Happy Halloween

Top - Nicole, Kerry and Chris in the "Native American" outfits that they were stuck with pretty much every year. This was taken in 1986. CPG tried to add a little variety by blending a Bugs Bunny mask.

Middle - Paul, Patrick and Kerry sort out the loot in 1991. All seem quite pleased with the haul. This probably involved a trading session.

Bottom - Patrick and Kerry work on cleaning out a pumpkin in 1992. Patrick seems to enjoy this even more than admiring the loot in 1991. Click to enlarge and you can see the tracing of the jack-0-lantern's face, plus a ghostly image of a young-ish pooch through the glass door . . .

Today is My Dad's 79th Birthday

Well, my papa turned 79 today. I imagine he'll be talking about what a nice day it is in early January in northern Iowa (just like every year).

Something that I always thought was neat when I was a kid was that my father had been a good athlete in his day (and seemed to retain those skills to a goodly extent, though we didn't get to see it in action very often). Why should that be important to a kid? Who knows. Athletics are vastly over-marketed these days, but that doesn't change the fact that there are lots of positive elements. I know that I personally have tremendously enjoyed every level of competition in which I've participated, and some of the hype about learning personal initiative and teamwork is legitimate. And in a continuously miserable TV market, traditional sports programming (i.e. games) generally remains the most interesting choice available. (It may not be the optimal path to self-improvement, but at least you don't get steadily dumber while you watch.)

Anyway, I liked that he wasn't some uncoordinated or out-of-shape dork. I could hit high school pitching pretty well at one time, but the guy to this day has a better constructed swing with a baseball bat than I ever developed. If you want somebody to hit fungoes, get him out there. I enjoyed the stories about Romie and him playing basketball and baseball together, including on the high school teams.

I also enjoyed that he was well versed in basketball and baseball and could discuss the goings-on so well. And how about that pronunciation of the All-Star Game (emphasis on second word).

He wasn't the type to continually shower praise if we did something well in our sports endeavors, but that just made the occasional comment much more meaningful. Maybe I'm old fashioned (or just a bit Germanic), but I think that's more effective than the nonstop praise (not to mention trophies) showered on young participants these days regardless of the quality of their accomplishments (or even their effort). So for example I still remember a comment of his about a good pass I made in a basketball game against St. Edmond's.

And it was nice to have support for our athletic efforts such that we could leave the workplace early and attend a practice or game as needed - many a time I left the sheller crew behind under such circumstances. Nice.

Top photo: hitting fungoes to the grandkids at the farm in August 1999. Bottom photo: teaming up with Margaret House for a narrow victory over Patrick and Paul in House backyard, August 1998. As always, click to enlarge.

Happy #79.

Lucky Day

Lots of talk about 07 07 07 being a lucky day. In our house we have proof - it's Kerry's b'day! Top photo shows mother & daughter shortly after arrival (07 07 83). Daughter appears quite interested in whatever mother is saying.

Photo 2 shows Kerry with birthday cake (3d birthday, as the cake decoration scheme communicates so clearly). You can do the math on her current age.

KHG = excellent daughter.

Easter 2007

Easter totally brings out giant rabbits. Here are photos of two traditional versions - a colossal chocolate rabbit surrounded by admirers in 1971 (Carol, Charlie, Mary, Barb with Therese) and a "bunny cake" that I believe Patricia has made pretty much every year since the kids were old enough to be able to recognize a chocolate cake as a rabbit. This is a 1988 version, with Patrick as chief admirer.

This year we also had a different version of a giant rabbit, as Linda Prideaux donned a full-size rabbit costume that she uses for their church's Easter celebration. She and Ray stopped over on Saturday to help celebrate Christopher's 25th birthday (yes, it was a couple days early, and yes, he's at a milestone quarter century mark). And to help celebrate Patricia's unnumbered birthday, which fell on Friday. Nice food and drinks, plus a good Hearts game.

So lots of good celebrations over the Easter weekend. Patrick and Paul Jr. were back from school for most of the weekend, and we saw a bunch of Chris. Had a highly enjoyable Easter party on Sunday. Gorgeous weather; we sat outside for dinner and yakking. 15+ folks around, all as nice as could be.

My Mom Turned 79 Today

Yes, she's been, and continues to be, a good mom indeed.

Something I wanted to mention about her is how much I appreciate her role in promoting an interest in music in our house. This has been a huge benefit to me personally. And each of my siblings had a bunch of talent, and developed and used it as they liked over the years.

Starting with the piano.

Ah yes, I well remember the day the piano was brought into the house (though I couldn't tell you the exact year). It was a classic upright, perfect for the parlor of an Iowa farmhouse. Dad backed up the pickup to the "cold entry" and he and (I think) Jerry Snetzer (sp?) brought it right in. So I thought they were pretty tough guys (which they were).

It never would have occurred to me at the time, but it's pretty hard to imagine her having to listen to all of us bang away on that piano - for literally decades. This had to be a headache-inducing experience, but I don't ever recall a complaint. Instead she always told us how good it sounded. (Even when at least some of the time it must have been just awful.) Same positive reaction to however we performed in the piano recitals in St. Joe. Encouragement goes a long way!

It also must have been a big task for her to monitor all those 30-minute sessions (via the white kitchen timer that sat atop the piano). From the practicer's perspective, that timer really moved slowly some days. As Patricia has experienced here, the performers aren't always enthused about putting in their daily half-hour sessions.

I guess the main point is that having nine kids take up music is something that doesn't just happen - it's nurtured. And Mom was the key driver on this. (Dad was a big supporter also, and also led by example via participation in the church choir. But Mom drove this on a day-to-day basis. And it's her birthday so I'm writing about her. Plus she plays the "oom pah" song on the piano, check out the video of a 2005 Arizona performance that at least our dog found inspirational.)



She is even out scuffling to sell tickets for the local community concert series, which you can read about here.

And look at the benefits of this effort. On top of all the enjoyable music over the early years, some of us are still performing in our communities (for example, Carol and Dolores do all sorts of things in their communities).

Even better, I have no doubt that her efforts are a contributing factor for the next generation. I don't think that I could list all the performers and what they can do. In my own house, all five of the kids played piano and performed in high school advanced chorus (with a boost of encouragement from their own mother); Chris and Paul Jr. are with me in the ASU Choral Union. The Cullen family members have been know to do all sorts of interesting things musically. Julia is into instrumental music. Etc., etc.

This is the kind of thing that a good Mom does.

Happy #79!

A Photo I Like

During our visit to St. Joe a couple weeks ago, we saw a photo that I had forgotten about, but really like. At the top of this post is a cropped version 0f the photo showing my grandfather, Ernest J. Gales, with his dog "Joe Boy." (At bottom is the full photo plus the notations I put on the reverse side when discussing the photo with Ernest J. some 25-30 years ago.)

So this was taken sometime in 1915 or 1916. Everyone shown in the full photo, including the dog, appears to be in excellent spirits, and then some. It's interesting to see a photo from that time of the gravel road that became U.S. 169. The photographer (who was it anyway?) had expert timing to catch Ray Gales standing on his head (though Aloysius Gales appears to have been caught at a less flattering moment).

The dog that we had as kids in the 1960s was given the same name -- "Joe Boy" -- by Ernest J himself. I guess he took naming rights without paying a fee or probably even asking. I don't have a great photo of Joe Boy #2 at hand, though this 1965 photo - 50 years after Joe Boy #1 - gives a look at him. (Back row L-R me, Steve, Cecilia (in sweet hat), Ernest M; front row Barb, Charlie, Dolores.) Standing in front of the '63 Ford Country Sedan. Not sure why most of us appear outfitted in Sunday best, yet EMG is in business casual.

Anyway, Joe Boy #2 showed up from nowhere and was a fine dog for us for many years. Loved chasing cars.

The recycling of the Joe Boy name seemed to start a trend. Later there was a female dog named Max; its male successor was named (of course) Maximilian. The lack of originality hit bottom with two dogs named Schmutt 1 and Schmutt 2.

Anyway, mostly I like the top photo showing Ernest J and his friend, now 90+ years ago.

As always, click on photos to enlarge.

Today is my Dad's 78th Birthday

My dad hit #78 today.

I like to write a little something about him and my mom on their birthdays. Usually something I liked, or learned from (or both). I’ll have plenty of material unless perhaps they last well past age 100.

Something from the old days: it was very good fun, and quite instructive, sitting around and watching him interact with our various corn-shelling customers. He was dealing with a wide variety of local personalities and I think we benefited from watching all these encounters. Even if our attention spans were sorely challenged from time to time as the conversations sometimes wore on (and on). But then again there were a lot of topics that deserved attention, and the St. Joe-area populace, as a whole, truly has excellent conversational skills. They (and he more than most) tend to be interested in local and non-local ideas, events and people. And they really enjoy spinning out their ideas in conversation. I think they’re every bit as busy as those of us that live in cities, but somehow have really preserved the art of conversation. (I was reminded of this twice recently. First during a morning of delightful conversation with my Capesius cousins, Jim McEnroe et al at the seed corn shed in late August. Second, with Virgil and Laurel (St. Joe neighbors) outside Gammage Auditorium following our holiday concert in early December.)

Back in the day, we did get to meet a large percentage of the locals due to the corn-shelling business – including non-Catholics who we otherwise wouldn’t have seen much of given that most social activity was highly concentrated among Catholic church, Catholic school and relatives and friends. Most of the corn-shelling customers fed us in their homes at least some of the time. Back in those days, the pastor (or minister) often was the person who had the opportunity to be served a meal in more area homes than any other person. Given our “mixed” clientele, perhaps my Dad would have held this title in our area?

Top photo is an old corn-shelling shot that one of my sisters took way back when (summer 1982, I believe). Bottom photo is from our 2003 trip through Pennsylvania Amish country – it was fun getting his take on their un-mechanized farming (that was a good day of touring in general).

Happy #78.

Our Roommates Left Us

We spent the weekend moving Patrick and Paul Jr. into their campus apartments. Friday (August 18) was move-in day for Patrick for junior year at University of Arizona. He’s staying at Sterling apartments west of campus (information here). We loaded up the Bonneville and our small-ish SUV and had an easy trip down to Tucson and back (minus Bonneville, which is staying in Tucson (keep your fingers crossed)). Plus we had a chance to have a late lunch with Patrick at Barrio in downtown Tucson (information here). We had been meaning to try the place. I ordered the fish taco, it was v. good.

Moved Paul into “The Village on University” for his sophomore year at Arizona State University on Saturday (August 19). These apartments (information here) are located less than a mile east of campus. Very nice except the carpeting could use a major cleaning (or replacement). The third-floor location is great except lugging stuff up there made Saturday’s humidity quite noticeable. Patricia and I went back down to Tempe on Sunday for some finishing touches and basics like grocery shopping.

Unlike last year, we failed to get any photos of the move-in. So I’m posting a photo showing these two guys starting school 14 years ago (August 1992).

We’ll miss having our two roommates around (even if they did tend to treat the house like a dorm every now and then). We’ve had several years or summers now with just the two of them around, our older three being all independent now. It’s a neat opportunity to live together in a smaller group, which I guess is something that often happens with the younger children in a larger family.

Happy 4th of July

The 4th of July certainly is an excellent holiday. When I was a kid, we always celebrated at the farm place of my Grandpa & Grandma Gales, up on the hill just west of St. Joe (Iowa). Lots of cousins milling around, lots of food; sometimes a baseball game; plenty of ice cream; mosquitoes; also sparklers, firecrackers and a few more interesting (though possibly illegal) fireworks courtesy of my truck-driving uncle, Daryl Baker, and his interstate travels. But we never had a poster or decorated cake as awesome as those in the accompanying photos (taken July 4, 1991).

Memorial Day 2006

Memorial Day makes one think about departed soldiers. A week or so ago, Wikipedia (an online encyclopedia) had an article on the 62nd anniversary of the Allied World War II victory at Monte Cassino.

So on this Memorial Day weekend, I’m thinking about my uncle, Irvin Bormann. Irvin died at Monte Cassino. Which means that my uncle made an incredible sacrifice during an incredible battle during an incredible war. Not that my own reaction has any relevance to the story, but as I think back I am surprised at how little I have appreciated Irvin and the battle over the years. When I was a kid, he was pretty much just a guy in a picture on the shelf in our parlor back on the farm. Everybody knew he had died in the war and that was pretty much it.

Wikipedia has great information about the battle and the abbey itself. Read the articles (links provided below) if you have a moment. Who knew that Monte Cassino was in a strategic location that made it the subject of raids throughout centuries, including by the Lombards (584), the Saracens (883) and Napoleon (1799)? Or that Charles Martel’s son was a monk at Monte Cassino (he would have been Charlemagne’s uncle)?

And what about the World War II battle? I had no idea that Polish troops played a major (and successful) role. I didn’t know that the Allies went to Pius XII for permission to bomb the monastery. I don’t know which aspect of the battle (or its various separate assaults) took Irvin from us, though it must have been one of the first assaults. I had no idea the battle was so difficult. I wish I could talk to Irvin about this. I wish I had talked to my grandparents about this.

The Monte Cassino photos (click to enlarge, as always) are from Wikipedia and speak for themselves. How about the Nazi propaganda poster designed to demoralize the Poles? It scares me. The view of the restored abbey from the Polish cemetery is quite beautiful. I would like to visit here. First I will read some of the items in the bibliography in the wikipedia article. And get back into Irvin’s diary. Irvin’s photo is from the St. Joe history book.

By the way, if you are not a wikipedia user, I cannot recommend it highly enough. The main page for the encyclopedia is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) The article about the battle for Monte Cassino is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Monte_Cassino. A separate article about the abbey itself is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monte_Cassino.