My dad

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Schmitz Park, West Seattle

Things have gotten kind of hectic this week so my posts have been all over the place (or maybe they always are), but I wanted to mention that last Saturday was my dad's birthday. We went and walked around at Schmitz Park in West Seattle, which is a pretty huge swath of forest, including some old-growth, with a creek running through the middle of it. It's pretty wild compared to most city parks and really beautiful. Anyway I wanted to wish my dad a happy birthday again, and I also wanted to post up these photos of him and me in the early '70s, when I was just a wee little lad:

My first birthday. Hell of a damn cake.

This is my dad and me working on his Triumph TR4A. When I say that I was working on it too, I mean it in the same sense as how I helped him install the record and book shelves in our condo – I stand there and make sure he has ice water or coffee or a beer, and I help lift things when they're too big for him to do it himself. Occasionally I say 'looks good' and stuff like that.
I'm sure it's helpful.

This photo is fresh to me for about 800 reasons, including but not limited to (1) model ship in glass case, (2) homemade papier maché and painted wood Christmas ornaments with popcorn garlands, (3) Bauhaus book, which I have since liberated, (4) reel-to-reel, (4a) short-wave radio, (5) bricks and boards in an odd configuration, (6) old school toy airplane, (7) sweet beard and haircuts, (8) nice button-down shirt and jeans, (9) good glasses, (10) extremely comfortable yellow pajamas with built-in feet.

This is my dad at a cabin we used to rent every year on Sequim Bay. He's not giving that look because he's sad or bewildered, it's because the water is freaking cold. He used to go out and pick up all kinds of odd sea life, put it in his mesh bag, and then my mom would figure out how to cook it. It inspired a spirit of adventure in eating that I still proudly maintain. That thing over his shoulder is an old pile driver we used to row out to.

Under Admiral Way in Schmitz Park (same goes for the top photo)

Dad, I wish you many more adventures, countless double-anchovy pizzas, and a happy birthday.