No Pix to Nix

There aren't too many photos of me "out there" that I'd be ashamed of letting anyone see.

This is just about the most scandalous one I have ever have had taken of me.

Robbie Roughneck

This is me, standing on the steps of Leonard Hudson's drilling rig #6, winter of '76.

I'm not so sure I pulled off the Prince Valiant/cowboy/porn star look.

Sure wish I was that skinny again.

Shotgun House

I was going through the photos in the Picassa slideshow and had forgotten I had put this photo into the mix.

It's not a particularly good photo and wouldn't mean anything to anyone else but my family and I because it was where my grandparents lived when I was a boy.

It's called a "shotgun house" because it's long and narrow and if you stuck a shotgun in the front door and pulled the trigger, you would hit every room in the house.

I have some fond memories of the house and staying there with my grandparents. There was a "play house" at the back of the garage and my sisters, cousins and I liked to decorate the inside with pages cut out from a magazine and stuck to the walls with flour glue.

I recall some guys in an old pickup driving down the alley and stopping, trying to coax my big sis over to their vehicle. She was wary and someone ran into the house to tell my dad and he ran out there but the guys had already left. I don't know what their intentions were, but I darn sure know what my dad's were. They were lucky he didn't catch them.

I also remember playing baseball with my cousin and some neighborhood boys. My cousin hit the ball and it broke a window; the next thing I know, I was standing there alone with the bat my cuz had quickly thrust into my hand before he ran away with the other kids. Grandpa believed me when I told him I hadn't done it, and gave me some grudging admiration for not snitching on who had done the dirty deed. I believe he knew who had done it even before he came out of the house.

I remember climbing on top of the garage and jumping off, just like a paratrooper, yelling "Geronimo!". Grandma saw me and told me to not jump off, and from now on to stay off the roof. Being the good boy I always was -grin- , I tried climbing down but slipped and fell on my back and hit my head on the sidewalk. Reaching back to feel the growing knot on my head, my hand came away with blood on it. I freaked out a little bit, but with only a sniffle or two, I went inside to let Grandma survey the damage to my head. It was just a little cut, but when Grandpa looked at the minor damage to my scalp and said "My gosh, I can see all the way down to your toes!", I lost it.

Before my grandparents passed away I was visiting them and we remembered that and Grandma STILL chastised Grandpa for scaring me like that. Grandma always called me her "little Mikey man". She's just about the only person I ever allowed to call me that.

The things I remember the most about that house were Grandma's chicken and dumplings and how the entire family would gather there for Christmas. I don't see how we all fit into the small shack. I also remember Grandma getting a kick out of me coming into the house and asking her sister if I could go down the street to play; they were twins and always were amused when people were confused as to who was who.

Here's me 'n Grandpa, sitting in front of the window that was broken.



I miss 'em.

1970 Miami Warriors

(click for larger view)



Coach would always tell us: "Practice like you play, men."

We did. We photographed the same way, too.

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Welcome to all visiting who have found this post via AOL or Google search.

You *may* be interested in video of the '71 Regional Championship game.

I Got Stoned

A scan of the copy of the copy of the photograph of my kidney stone

Comin' to see Uncle Mike

This was the summer of '76, I am fairly sure. I had just bought some sort of Instamatic, guess it would've been a Polaroid. The film was horribly expensive and each photo cost nearly a dollar.

These have always been two of my favorite photos, not just because I love my nephews, but they made me think I "might" have an eye for taking a decent photo.

I was deluding myself, but I'll blame that on being young.

The Lee Brothers

Ug Lee and Home Lee

Nah, they're my nephews. They both have children older now than they were then.

Taken in my swinging bachelor pad, a garage apt., circa summer '76. Rent was $50/month.

Me 'n Gran'pa

That's probably around '62 or so (sigh)

I'm the one on the right, btw.

The Great Flood of '76

Red Deer Creek, circa 1976.