My Father's Day Tribute

Without any photos or videos, I just want to say a few words about my Dad and I would imagine it may apply to a lot of you out there as to how you feel about your Fathers too.

Poppa, My silent Hero. How can I thank you for all you did for me and our family. You loved your family, your God and your Country. You quietly worked your ass off to put a roof over our heads, food on our table, clothes on our back and did everything you could and giving us every opportunity to make our lives better than when you were young. And you never once complained. You drove us out to California to our new home, in your old '46 Studebaker that would pop out of gear. You had to hold the gearshift down the whole way. I know your arm was really hurting at the end of our trip. You never complained. You bought me my first baseball glove so I could play Little League. I was terrible! But you only encouraged me to work at it and it would get better. It did. And no matter how bad a player I was, you never complained. You gave blood once a month for over 30 years, because you knew someone out there needed it, and you Never complained. You volunteered at our church to help poor families in the area, even though you had no time or money to do so and you never complained. You treated Mom like a queen and always found a way to smooth anything over when she might have been upset. You were always there for us whenever we needed to talk. And even though you worked two jobs, you always found a few hours on the weekend to spend with us and take us for a ride in that old Studebaker. And...you never complained. You waited up all night for me to come home because I didn't call, kicked me in the butt when I did get home, then hugged me and said "All you have to do is call. Your mom was worried sick". Dad,I learned my lesson... responsibility. You were my Father, my mentor, my role model and my Hero. You wrote me a letter once a week when I was overseas in the Army, bailed my ass out a couple of times when I got in trouble and like a rock, you never complained.  One day, many years ago, you wrote me a short note when I was going through some hard times. All it said was; " Son, always look up, never down"... Love Dad"
I still have it, and live by your words. Its framed, hanging on a wall and I look at it every morning and think about you. There is not a day that goes by that you don't come to mind. Even when it was your time, you knew it, and weren't afraid, you said you were ready. You Never complained. Poppa, You are a much braver man than I could ever be. I love you Dad and I miss you very much. You will Always be on my mind and in my heart. Thank you for being my Dad.
Happy Father's Day Poppa, Happy Father's Day.

The Chino Air Show

  A couple of weekends ago, we went to the Chino Air Show. And it was cool! Pati and I have two friends, from the Marina, Frank and Mike, that work for an air charter service called Threshold Aviation Group. Frank is a jet pilot and flies for this company that provides executive air travel to, well....the people who can afford 'executive air travel'. For me, not being in the category of even thinking about chartering a private jet, it was pretty impressive. Mike is the all around  master of the plane hanger and takes care of just about everything that needs to done. He loves to fly every chance he gets and is working toward his pilot's license.

 The owner of the company they work for puts on a little get together every year for the air show. There was good BBQ, drinks, schmoozing and to say the least, a nice afternoon for all. We didn't go in at the general admission area so we weren't up close and personal to all the exhibits and planes on display.  But we had an up front view of some really cool planes and a great vantage of the runway. In the hanger that we were at, was the owners personal collection of 5 fighter jets, that he flies, as well as the charter jets. Like I said, pretty impressive. The best part about it was that we were really close to the  air strip where the planes take off from and got some great views of classic airplanes and old WWII fighters taxiing down the runway and taking off into the 'wild blue yonder'...Cool! The planes were flying overhead and I got to see plenty of passes and at the end of the day, a stiff neck from looking into the skies for so long. It was  my first air show and a great experience that I hope we get to do again next year. Hope you like the photos I took, and don't forget to check out the short video of some old planes taking off and flying through the clouds. Click on any of the photos to enlarge them and, you can read all my blogs at:  lefthandblogger.blogspot.com

Memorial Day 2011

I was in Vegas visiting my family for the Memorial Day weekend. And as I had said in my Memorial Day blog last year, (scroll way down if you want to read it...but not required) My Dad was a proud American and a WWII Veteran who was laid to rest at the Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City Nevada. This place is vast and stretches out almost as far as you can see. My sister (Denise) and I decided to go there on Sunday to pay our respects to our father. As we turned into the grounds and drove slowly down the winding road to the right spot, my eyes widened, I exhaled slowly and my mouth was wide open. We were both awe struck. Every grave site was planted with an American flag at the top of the headstone. It was a breezy day and everywhere you looked was a sea of Red White and Blue fluttering in the wind. It was an Awesome sight that was both inspiring and moving. On my way there, I hadn't planned to write about this, but I was glad I had my camera and I just can't help but to put this down in hopes that anyone who reads this will be half as moved as I was. The photos don't really do it justice, but here's hoping you get the impression that I did. This one is for you Dad.

Memorial Day is a Great American Holiday that we spend with friends, family and loved ones. We have BBQs and outings and enjoy the time off. But we need to remember, the day was set aside for those who served our country and are no longer with us. For those who paid the ultimate price and those who lived to tell their stories and then passed on. Remember, Freedom is never free. And the price that is paid is never cheap.

Now, to lighten things up...The next day I went to the Pinball Hall of Fame on Tropicana Blvd., played for a couple of hours on my favorite machines and had a Great time!

You can see all my blogs at: lefthandblogger.blogspot.com