My Uncle Died
On the morning of April 22nd I had gotten a call on my phone but didn't find out till the evening as we had been working outside all day with one of the first springlike days so far. It had been from a close friend of my uncle telling me that he had died earlier that day, about 5 am their local, Virginia time.
About a month and a half before was the last time I had talked with him. He called me to tell me he was in the hospital and from how he felt at that time, he thought he'd "never walk out of the place on his own two feet". He was really angry about everything and so I couldn't talk too long to him because he just got that much angrier as I talked with him. He wound up going home after about a weeks stay and did alright for a few weeks then went downhill again.
His health problems, as with many of my family on my mothers side, were directly related to a life time of cigarette and tobacco addiction. He wound up having most of one lung removed several years ago, and a few years after that a coughing spasm caused him to black out and fall down a short flight of stairs which left him with some motor function and mental capacity brain damage. He really was never the same after all that.
He was primarily a self taught artist with a great natural ability and after many, many businesses in architectural and graphic art and design over the years he had settled in to his final research and his masterpiece, a ten volume, complete history of the PT, Patrol Torpedo, Boat from the World War Two era. PT boats were made most memorable in the fact that the PT-109 was the number of the boat that in WWII, future president John F. Kennedy had commanded and been severely injured on when it was hit by a Japanese ship at night.
He'd also recently written some non fiction short stories too, WWII related, that are sold for the Kindle or Kindle app device in Amazon. Check out his Kindle 'page', Joe Hinds.
To me though, it was his art work, many of his later projects and prints are museum pieces in the Naval Museum in Virgina, that I have always enjoyed. I especially like the life like aspects of almost all of his paintings. Back in the 1970's after his stint in the Marines, he had been hired on for the City of Palm Springs as an Architect. I remember when he quit working there because he felt 'trapped' working a desk.
I have always felt, and still feel, that the one act of quitting Palm Springs was one of his really stupid moves! 1970's Palm Springs was still a somewhat sleepy town, the boom was just starting. Had he just buckled down and stayed, and not let his ego get in the way I've often wondered how many times over a millionaire he would have become by the 1990's!
A problem he shared and apparently inherited from my grandmother, he, like my grandmother, had opened the door to success only to slam it shut again! Then of course he spent the rest of his life in pursuit of that very same success. I remember in my teens he kept saying he was going to be rich and retire at 45! Then nothing seemed to really work out for one reason or another. He did another stint in the military, the NAVY that time. He'd start a company, be doing well then something would happen, never his fault of course. He had also hit rock bottom several times over the years, mainly due to alcohol. Then 40 came, 45 came and went, 50 and 55 came and went.
He spent several years as a long haul trucker until his health became an issue and then after his fall and ultimately becoming chained to an oxygen tank with COPD and unable to get around well, it went on to his end.
Twenty Years Ago This Week:
Most should have seen the story on the news. It was April 29, 1992, and the verdict of the Rodney King trial that sparked the LA riots. It was quite a week back then, I remember it very well.
Back in 1992, April 29th was on a Wednesday, my Monday then, and the case against the police involved in the beating had already been news for it's entire run. I actually can't think of anyone that would look at that video and not think it was unnecessarily excessive and brutal. But that afternoon when the police involved were cleared of any wrong doing, I also know that no one could believe it! But I don't think anyone thought it would have gone so totally out of control either. That Thursday and Friday, then May 1st and 2nd, were so incredibly surreal. With all the rioting going on in LA and that of course being the ONLY thing on the area radio and TV, our daily calls went to almost nothing. For me any just about everyone else working then it was just drive around and listen to the radio reports.
It was really crazy too, I remember it seemed like block to block reports of the fires and looting spreading outward from the 'war zone'. And then there were alerts sent out to all area law enforcement agencies about the violence possibly spreading to all of Southern California. So the main Sheriff station which was right next to the County service yard became an armed camp. SWAT armed men were posted on the tops of the buildings as well as the Government centers nearby. All county as well as personal vehicles were ordered to be parked well away from the street and all access to the yard area as well as the jail and Sheriff building were restricted and closed off for several days. We were all told to stay away from the most gang known areas of the County, that were mostly our departments areas back then by the way. We were told to stay alert and if anything happened, get out first and then call for help, take no chances!
Although the degree of violence going on in LA never reached the San Bernardino area, small acts of violence did occur, we'd hear about them on the service radio if we were scanning the Sheriff channels which those radios could do. I remember this mostly because it was pretty close by, the angry crowds gathering and the vehicle or something like that burned at the Central City Mall, only about 5 minutes away from the County Yards.
But I recall it so well, I can see it again as I write this. Parking my truck to get ready to go home, back up in the High Desert, and seeing the officers with their automatic rifles walking around on the rooftop.
And now 20 years later, with the digital age, much of that experience could be relived almost hour for hour through Twitter and the KNBC LA channel 4 posts. Notes and quotes from the people, news, photos links, and video links from the archives of the time as the riots unfolded.
Just a few weeks earlier on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking one could relive the sinking through posts from "Real Time Titanic" which is actually still posting through all the inquiries that followed that disaster. All very interesting. I understand that a similar thing was done in 2009 with the Apollo landing 40th anniversary, but I had followed that with the real time audio recorded from NASA back in 1969, I was 11 in 69, and the audio replay at the exact times was very, very interesting to hear.
Next Week:
So, next week I'll be going to Bend, Oregon, again for a few days. Like last year it's for a Conference about Community Services. Last year, I enjoyed it and got some good ideas we've implemented here, but I hadn't planned on going back. Until I 'won' a scholarship that covered the cost of going this year, so I'll be going.
Stacy will be going to Boise for a few days too. With the warm weather on the way the trips to Boise for Stacy will really ramp up. And although 40s and rainy this week, 70s and more sun are predicted for next week. Almost summer and we haven't had too much spring yet!
Other Family News:
Stacy is really excited about the new grand kid growing in our oldest daughter Sandy. Sandy on the other hand isn't quite that excited........yet. Sandy still has problems with the morning, afternoon and evening sickness and isn't getting what all the excitement is about yet. I've told her I think when the overall sickness finally stops she'll forget all about the throwing up and nausea and only remember what others I've known that have had babies have said about how 'wonderful' it was being pregnant. Sandy says "yeah.......right".
Sandy and Erik did their trip to Coachella for the music festival. It was in the over 100 degree range so she was pretty uncomfortable overall. She said they aren't planning on going next year with the baby in tow. Sandy said she saw quite a few moms with babies but felt it was just too hot, too dusty and too crowded to be pushing around a baby for the mom or the babies health.
Oh and it's been spilled already by Sandy, but via sonogram they found out it's a girl!
Laura and her family are still settling in at their new place in Houston. Tyler's already back in school, he'll be in first grade later this year. And they're still adjusting to the warmer temps over Davenport too.
Russell's "dream job" is slow going because although there, he still has to wait for the multitudes of security clearances to clear before he can really start his job.
Till next time, Tad
On the morning of April 22nd I had gotten a call on my phone but didn't find out till the evening as we had been working outside all day with one of the first springlike days so far. It had been from a close friend of my uncle telling me that he had died earlier that day, about 5 am their local, Virginia time.
About a month and a half before was the last time I had talked with him. He called me to tell me he was in the hospital and from how he felt at that time, he thought he'd "never walk out of the place on his own two feet". He was really angry about everything and so I couldn't talk too long to him because he just got that much angrier as I talked with him. He wound up going home after about a weeks stay and did alright for a few weeks then went downhill again.
His health problems, as with many of my family on my mothers side, were directly related to a life time of cigarette and tobacco addiction. He wound up having most of one lung removed several years ago, and a few years after that a coughing spasm caused him to black out and fall down a short flight of stairs which left him with some motor function and mental capacity brain damage. He really was never the same after all that.
He was primarily a self taught artist with a great natural ability and after many, many businesses in architectural and graphic art and design over the years he had settled in to his final research and his masterpiece, a ten volume, complete history of the PT, Patrol Torpedo, Boat from the World War Two era. PT boats were made most memorable in the fact that the PT-109 was the number of the boat that in WWII, future president John F. Kennedy had commanded and been severely injured on when it was hit by a Japanese ship at night.
He'd also recently written some non fiction short stories too, WWII related, that are sold for the Kindle or Kindle app device in Amazon. Check out his Kindle 'page', Joe Hinds.
To me though, it was his art work, many of his later projects and prints are museum pieces in the Naval Museum in Virgina, that I have always enjoyed. I especially like the life like aspects of almost all of his paintings. Back in the 1970's after his stint in the Marines, he had been hired on for the City of Palm Springs as an Architect. I remember when he quit working there because he felt 'trapped' working a desk.
I have always felt, and still feel, that the one act of quitting Palm Springs was one of his really stupid moves! 1970's Palm Springs was still a somewhat sleepy town, the boom was just starting. Had he just buckled down and stayed, and not let his ego get in the way I've often wondered how many times over a millionaire he would have become by the 1990's!
A problem he shared and apparently inherited from my grandmother, he, like my grandmother, had opened the door to success only to slam it shut again! Then of course he spent the rest of his life in pursuit of that very same success. I remember in my teens he kept saying he was going to be rich and retire at 45! Then nothing seemed to really work out for one reason or another. He did another stint in the military, the NAVY that time. He'd start a company, be doing well then something would happen, never his fault of course. He had also hit rock bottom several times over the years, mainly due to alcohol. Then 40 came, 45 came and went, 50 and 55 came and went.
He spent several years as a long haul trucker until his health became an issue and then after his fall and ultimately becoming chained to an oxygen tank with COPD and unable to get around well, it went on to his end.
Twenty Years Ago This Week:
Most should have seen the story on the news. It was April 29, 1992, and the verdict of the Rodney King trial that sparked the LA riots. It was quite a week back then, I remember it very well.
Back in 1992, April 29th was on a Wednesday, my Monday then, and the case against the police involved in the beating had already been news for it's entire run. I actually can't think of anyone that would look at that video and not think it was unnecessarily excessive and brutal. But that afternoon when the police involved were cleared of any wrong doing, I also know that no one could believe it! But I don't think anyone thought it would have gone so totally out of control either. That Thursday and Friday, then May 1st and 2nd, were so incredibly surreal. With all the rioting going on in LA and that of course being the ONLY thing on the area radio and TV, our daily calls went to almost nothing. For me any just about everyone else working then it was just drive around and listen to the radio reports.
It was really crazy too, I remember it seemed like block to block reports of the fires and looting spreading outward from the 'war zone'. And then there were alerts sent out to all area law enforcement agencies about the violence possibly spreading to all of Southern California. So the main Sheriff station which was right next to the County service yard became an armed camp. SWAT armed men were posted on the tops of the buildings as well as the Government centers nearby. All county as well as personal vehicles were ordered to be parked well away from the street and all access to the yard area as well as the jail and Sheriff building were restricted and closed off for several days. We were all told to stay away from the most gang known areas of the County, that were mostly our departments areas back then by the way. We were told to stay alert and if anything happened, get out first and then call for help, take no chances!
Although the degree of violence going on in LA never reached the San Bernardino area, small acts of violence did occur, we'd hear about them on the service radio if we were scanning the Sheriff channels which those radios could do. I remember this mostly because it was pretty close by, the angry crowds gathering and the vehicle or something like that burned at the Central City Mall, only about 5 minutes away from the County Yards.
But I recall it so well, I can see it again as I write this. Parking my truck to get ready to go home, back up in the High Desert, and seeing the officers with their automatic rifles walking around on the rooftop.
And now 20 years later, with the digital age, much of that experience could be relived almost hour for hour through Twitter and the KNBC LA channel 4 posts. Notes and quotes from the people, news, photos links, and video links from the archives of the time as the riots unfolded.
Just a few weeks earlier on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic sinking one could relive the sinking through posts from "Real Time Titanic" which is actually still posting through all the inquiries that followed that disaster. All very interesting. I understand that a similar thing was done in 2009 with the Apollo landing 40th anniversary, but I had followed that with the real time audio recorded from NASA back in 1969, I was 11 in 69, and the audio replay at the exact times was very, very interesting to hear.
Next Week:
So, next week I'll be going to Bend, Oregon, again for a few days. Like last year it's for a Conference about Community Services. Last year, I enjoyed it and got some good ideas we've implemented here, but I hadn't planned on going back. Until I 'won' a scholarship that covered the cost of going this year, so I'll be going.
Stacy will be going to Boise for a few days too. With the warm weather on the way the trips to Boise for Stacy will really ramp up. And although 40s and rainy this week, 70s and more sun are predicted for next week. Almost summer and we haven't had too much spring yet!
Other Family News:
Stacy is really excited about the new grand kid growing in our oldest daughter Sandy. Sandy on the other hand isn't quite that excited........yet. Sandy still has problems with the morning, afternoon and evening sickness and isn't getting what all the excitement is about yet. I've told her I think when the overall sickness finally stops she'll forget all about the throwing up and nausea and only remember what others I've known that have had babies have said about how 'wonderful' it was being pregnant. Sandy says "yeah.......right".
Sandy and Erik did their trip to Coachella for the music festival. It was in the over 100 degree range so she was pretty uncomfortable overall. She said they aren't planning on going next year with the baby in tow. Sandy said she saw quite a few moms with babies but felt it was just too hot, too dusty and too crowded to be pushing around a baby for the mom or the babies health.
Oh and it's been spilled already by Sandy, but via sonogram they found out it's a girl!
Laura and her family are still settling in at their new place in Houston. Tyler's already back in school, he'll be in first grade later this year. And they're still adjusting to the warmer temps over Davenport too.
Russell's "dream job" is slow going because although there, he still has to wait for the multitudes of security clearances to clear before he can really start his job.
Till next time, Tad
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