Dad as a Dad.....Dad as a Friend

The boxes of pictures were hidden in closets, in cabinets not looked into for years . Many of the pictures were sealed in old photo albums standing side by side with so many others collecting dust. It was just like books in a library waiting to be opened , page by page , with its rich history revealing itself .They were hidden in plastic tubs , in old Kodak envelopes waiting to be rescued. I know there will be more........

It's surprising how much memory is built around things unnoticed at the time. ~Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

The pictures definitely smoothed out the rough edges of my faded memory. There were many pictures of Dad being.... the many faces of what a Dad is in life.....

“He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.”-Clarence Budington Kelland

Many pictures revealed Dad as best friend

"In loneliness, in sickness, in confusion-the mere knowledge of friendship makes it possible to endure, even if the friend is powerless to help. It is enough that they exist. Friendship is not diminished by distance or time, by imprisonment or war, by suffering or silence. It is in these things that it roots most deeply. It is from these things that it flowers." -Pam Brown

Dad had many titles , according to what I've observed in these photo's ....Teenage Dad, Cool Dad, Newlywed Dad, New dad Dad, Picnic Dad, Jokester Dad, Son Dad, Brother Dad, Husband Dad, Fisherman Dad, Grandpa Dad, Soldier Dad, .....But the one that screams "Thread of Life" ( see earlier blog ) ...the one that says,.. we are all connected is this one ....

Together as Friends sharing moments , they truly had fun in life ( Believe me I've heard the stories )......Connected from the beginning and amazingly connected in passing Thread of Life Moments........

.........My dad passed February 15, 1998...........................................

....Nino Tony passed February 12, 2007..........................................

...Uncle Jack Passed February 11, 2008 ......................................

I want to thank anyone that ever took a photo of my Dad.....You'll never know how much the pictures have allowed me to have him back ..... if only for a moment in time .....a moment that YOU have captured for ME......

.

....Oh, And Dad , ...if you're watching ..Here's to you ...

Please enjoy the photo collage..........

Birthing a Baby

After 52 years , and never having kids of my own , in a round about way , I think I helped birth a baby ...........I think ............

check it out..... http://olphalum1969.blogspot.com/

What do you think ?????

What is a Treasure ???

Of the more than 130 million items in the Library of Congress, one might ask which of these are considered "treasures"? Of course Thomas Jefferson's handwritten draft of the Declaration of Independence is a treasure, not only because of its association with Jefferson but also because of what it reveals about how one of the founding documents of America was written and rewritten and finally agreed upon by dozens of men in the midst of a political crisis.


But what about Jelly Roll Morton's early compositions? Or Maya Lin's original drawing for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial? Or one of the earliest known baseball cards? Or the first motion picture deposited for copyright? The Library holds all these and more.


Now it has come to my attention that someone in San Angelo , Texas holds an item that might be considered a treasure. There were 18 young men , back in the day, that might have answered yes , this item is a bonafide , 100 % " treasure "


Let me describe this item as being approximately 12-14 oz. in wieght ( 16 oz. soaking wet ), with white and blue coloring. It measures 12" wide by 12" long and is more than 40 years old . You might ask what is it ?


While you are pondering the question , trying to come up with answer, I would like to leave you with two pictures that I feel are true " treasures " . These pictures are the 18 men that I referred to earlier . The pictures , if not for you , brings me back to days spent at the Jefferson High gymnasium or the courts at the " Center " . ...........Do you hear the squeaks of black converse tennis shoes making a turn on the hardwood court ?, ......Do you hear the whistles echoeing off the gymnasium walls ? ,...........Can you hear the roar of the crowd after that perfect shot ends in the sound of a SWISH ?,.......How about the sound of the buzzers ending a quarter or the end of a game which you just won ?????

Thank you Mr Denning , Mr Martin , Mr Cross and you parents who invested your time in us . I may not think of those moments as much as I'd like to , but I will certainly never , ever forget them .


These are true ..................TREASURES !!!!!!























*Here's the answer to the question " What is more than 40 years old ? "




..........Thanks Wayne B. , and if you bring them to the reunion next year they will need to be hermetically sealed in a plastic bag because they appear to be toxic........Just kidding .....Thanks for sharing


***** Wayne , just recieved a call from the OLPH athletic dept. and they said you owe them $ 5.00 for the shorts. They don't want you to return them for the reimbursement of your deposit money because they agreed that the shorts , do in fact , appear to be toxic........


Talk to you soon Alums

Rick

Threads of Life

Thread : [1913 Webster] 4. (Fig.) Something continued in a long course or tenor; a recurrent theme or related sequence of events in a larger story; as the thread of a story, or of life, or of a discourse. --Bp. Burnet.

Let's face it gang , we've been stuck together like glue since 1961, and five of us since 1960. That would be Patti S. Chrissy D. Donna A. Terry Mc. and myself. OK , Okay... some of you are asking for pics to go with the stories. Here's the Kindergarten picture where the five of us started . Can you pick us out ???

One might think that by moving to the East Coast , you'd escape from the thread of life , but we found you John S. ( Didn't we ) ? One might move to Chicago , and I understand you're there Jean H. ....drop us a line please. Jeff M., You are just down the road in San Bruno , send up a smoke signal.

The thread of life calls out ........to you all

Someone out there from our class may not want to be contacted right now because he or she is going through tough times. I'm certain that with the combined life experiences of us Alums , with just a phone call , an e-mail, a hug , a short note ....that small gesture would make a world of difference.....score one for the thread of life .

Coming back to the Family home has been interesting . Mom has boxes and boxes of pictures and it has proven to be a Treasure Chest of family memories . I have found not only old pictures of the immediate family but pictures from my Mom's growing up years . Pictures of Grandma and Grandpa that I'd never seen before made me feel connected to a past I'd only heard in stories .

Score another one for the thread of life.

Imagine seeing your Grandma with dark hair ( I only remember her from age 65, grey haired until she passed in her 90's ). Imagine seeing Grandpa in a three piece suit as a young lad just to go fishing or do yard work . That's how it was back in the day.

I spent days going through box after box soaking up all this history that was opening up before my eyes, just like an old time picture movie.

Two weeks ago was another thread of life event. My mother's Uncle Leon , from Watsonville, was turning 99 and we were invited to a barbecue . I was re-introduced to family members I had not seen in 10 years , and for one cousin it had been 35 years.

Here are two pictures ......one from @ 1945 and one from the barbecue two weeks ago . In the older family picture , Uncle Leon Ventura is the one on the right , Uncle Ray , Mom ( she said she was 15 in this pic ) Grandpa Ventura , Auntie Lou ( I was told not to divulge her age or there would be consequences ) Grandma, Uncle Jim and Uncle Henry.

In the second picture is my Auntie Lou , Uncle Ray , Auntie Epifania ( Uncle Leon's wife ) my mom Anne and our guest of honor Uncle Leon . Uncle Leon has touched many lives .

Each and everyone of us has done the same in someway or another. Coming back to Northern Ca. , back to Daly City, back to our family home here on East Vista has given me a connection like I've not felt in a long time .

Score one more for ................................The Thread of life................

Talk to you soon Alums,

Rick

aerial of OLPH currently

Top of the Hill ( Really )

On the front end of 40 Years ago , it seemed like life would take forever. On the back end of 40 years later , 1969 seems as if it were yesterday. As a youngster, the summer days were like weeks . The weeks were like months . The months were like years until September hit and we didn't want the summer to end . Remember strikeouts at Edgewood park or whiffleball at the War Memorial Rec Center ??? Bike rides to Thornton Beach by ourselves, or when Harvey C. took some of us to the top of Radio Mtn. Road to ride the twisty turns back down Guadalupe Canyon Rd . Do you remember hikes to Indian Head when the Guadalupe Canyon Rd wasn't even built yet ?
I mention this passage of time because I know if I felt this way , others had to have had the same feelings .
39 years ago, who would have thought that Alumni of the OLPH Class of 1969 would spread out to all ends of the United States . E-mails are coming in from Chico and Cottonwood , Calif. ... Southern Ca. is well represented and San Diego too.... San Angelo, Texas and Rhode Island .
Who's in Rhode Island you might ask ? Click on the Classmate blog list with the heading The Three Bucketeers and be surprised. I won't spoil it for this person but we've shared some humorous stories that will keep us chuckling for years to come . One story that comes to mind is when Jeff M. , ( our mystery classmate ) and I ditched school ( Riordan High in S.F.) and went to the San Francisco Zoo. We visited the Llama exhibit and the Llamas proceeded to spit on us. Let me tell you that Llama spit is one of the foulest smells on this planet and it is payback for ditching classes( at least in my mind ) . Our mystery classmate does remember the incident but he doesn't remember ditching school. Dear Mystery classmate . That happened 35 years ago and I think we are in the clear . I don't believe our Riordan High School Diplomas will be revoked .
If you are reading this , you've probably google mapped the Top of the Hill to view the old neighborhoods . I will include some close up pics in the next day or two which brings me to another question . Why would anybody paint their house Alhambra Water Truck ( Sparkletts Water for you So Cal Alumni ) bright green???? . My buddy Paul G. grew up on Winchester , two blocks from OLPH and the house next to his mom's house is BRIGHT GREEN . Now I apologize if any of you have a bright green house but ,come on now . Does the question What were you thinking come to mind ?...................Ooooops , I just fell off of the soapbox, sorry for the rant .

Talk to you soon,
Rick

Happy Mother's Day

Have you ever tried to come back to a place after 22 years ? I did. I expect that when others come back here for our reunion next year they will be surprised , pleasantly or otherwise. My sister Karen was gracious enough to make reservations at a restaurant two minutes from the Daly City BART. I hadn't heard of THE BOULEVARD CAFE Restaurant and sis had said it was the old Lyons location . What !!! You mean the Lyons is gone , the place where one ... use to go at 1 or 2 in the AM....after a night out. Yep she said and sent me the link to preview the food menu ....here's the link



http://www.theboulevardcafe.com/



Now I have to tell you, after this mornings Mother's Day breakfast get together with 11 family members , I have just voted this the new go to place for my 1 or 2 in the AM outings after a late night out . ( I actually better check the time schedule here and make sure they do the wee in the morning hour food fest . ) I found the food and service very much to my liking . Two thumbs up in my book and Mom, I hope your day was Special .

*** Just spoke with a Hostess and was informed that they close at 10 PM but are open until 11 PM on Fridays and Saturdays ........Back to the drawing board for a wee morning food joint ......Maybe the owners will reconsider...MMMmmm ???



This is a shout out to all the OLPH class of 1969 Moms, Hope your day was a Blessed day.

Mom stopped by the house later in the day to pick up her golf clubs ( Yes, she just recently celebrated the 28th anniversary of her 50th birthday and she still golfs every Monday ....You go girl !!! } and I had to show her the new blog sight . Her comment was ..." nice, did you know you misspelled received ? " and she proceeded to correct my spelling on the screen . I had to explain to her that her gesture was appreciated but she couldn't actually edit anything she saw on the screen , otherwise what a mess the internet would be with on screen editing . As a mother , she didn't want anyone that read the blog to think she had raised an illiterate son . Thanks Mom... ( I should've spell checked )

So much to share .....I hope everybody called their mom today....

Talk to you soon

( I just noticed the map visitor location isn't in the right place .....intructions , instructions . Where did I place those instructions ?? )

The First Step is the Toughest

For many of us it started in 1955, for a few, it was 1954, but in just a few short years our paths would cross in this thing that we call LIFE. From 1961-1969 we would share good times and the bad . We would learn things that proved useful later on in our lives , and some of the things we learned just stayed up there in our head never to be used ( never ever !!! ). Our eyes saw things that we thought were awesome and we kept these in our hearts as cherished memories. Sadly we saw things that were tragic and we wished we could erase them from our minds .
While living through these shared times we thought it would never end . For some of us it did. Some of us never saw our 20TH Birthday, or 30th , 40th or the golden age of 50.
That's the reason why I am writing today. For those of us that did make to our 51st, 52nd and soon to be 53rd birthdays, we will also be celebrating another milestone and that would be our 40th year Reunion of our OLPH graduating class of 1969. As Twila F. recounts " Excited , Yes (okay maybe not so excited that I am old enough to have a 40 year reunion of anything ) "
The sentiment has been shared by those who I've been in contact with and many can't wait to see each other after all these years .
I want to take the time to thank Nisa V. because it was in an e-mail to me last year ( 2007 ) that planted the seed when she asked "why don't we have a class re-union ? "........MMMMMMMmmmmmmmm ???? Why not . When Denise D. sent me a note last year ( also in 2007 ) I knew it was time to get this party started. I did contact Ed Mahoney who is the Development Director at OLPH ( He also helps with the Alumni contacts ). He gave some advice , a list of 12 contacts and we hit the street running.
We have broken our class contact list into three categories
1 . Those who have graduated with the Class of 1969
2. Those who attended some of the years but relocated and transferred out
3. Those that didn't attend OLPH but were very involved in our Sports
Programs

Our goal was to have at least 2 positive responses a week and to date we have surpassed our estimates . Our respondents so far include............

Week 1 : Nisa V , Denise D
Week 2 : Patti S , Twila F. , Donna A,( she's a category 2 ) Cathy V.
Paul G ( he's a category 3 )
Week 3 : Brendan R, John S. , Rick S., Dan C ( he's a category 3 )
and we've ended the week with a note from Wayne B. all the way from
San Angelo , Texas

I'm excited for all of us . I've been receiving e-mail notes and pictures as I write, and I will share some of the words of encouragement and pictures that I've received that I'm sure will bring smiles to your faces . Please stay in touch by leaving a comment or dropping a note to Nisa or myself.

Thanks for allowing me to share ,

Rick Pacheco
Class President
OLPH Class of 1969