The United Democrats of Southern Solano had a great chat with Jackie Elward. Among other things, this was a very personal dialog where I shared a very personal story of my own that Jackie and I have dealt with — namely our biracial children being teased.
She starts talking about her son’s ideation from being bullied around 9:20 into the video and I get to respond to a few things that she said around the 30 minute mark.
My daughter and my brother weren’t able to make it, but my nephew (who turned 16 three days before my 55th), my niece, sister and brother-in-law joined Shando and me today. Someone had given me a princess tiara, so I adorned that as they sang over a pride cake.
I joked that since it was technically the day after pride month, they should have insisted on half-price!
My nephew and niece are so big!
I finally got around to posting juxtaposed pictures of my previous trips to Oahu and some of the key photos of my grandparents and parents from the 1950’s and 1970’s. My dad grew up for much of his childhood in Oahu, including when Hawaii became a state, and then later lived on Moloka’i when he himself was stationed there from about 1961-1963. This project was to take photographs in places where they were photographed decades earlier.
Check out my previous Oahu trips in 2009 and 2016. I will now have my 2022 trip added.
In 2009, my friend Kawika Mueller, who I had met on Maui the year before, helped me go to the places where my grandparents and parents had traveled which were recognizable on Oahu. I sort of recreated the shots thanks to Kawika.
Kayla is my god-niece. Her grandmother Carla was my godmother and her dad is my god-brother. Here is a picture of me with my two god-brothers. We have not been in the same place in at least 38 years (since my god-brother Joe’s wedding in the Summer of 1984).
A woman in Catalonia wrote me to ask for permission to do a story on my parents, who I mention on my blog lived in the northern part of Catalonia near Girona and the French border. Our entire family lived there but my siblings were so young that they do not have as clear memories as I do. I know the picture of my parents featured in the article was one cherished by my mom. On this same cement slab is where I learned how to ride a bike. We lived there from 1975-1977, when we moved to live on base in New York City on Governor’s Island. I remember celebrating the American Bicentennial on base in Spain. It was quite a culture shock to move to NYC. The article is written in Catalan, a Latin-based language of the region of Spain where we lived.
Here is the original photo:
Enjoy!
I only saw my sister and her family one time during Covid so far, so it was nice that they got to see our house and hang out for a while. I’m so proud of my niece who is getting ready for college with her excellent grades.
In the dark and in the light…
My daughter’s recent video about Black inventors brought to you by Cadillac.
Enjoy!
Alexandra and her boyfriend Davy visited us for the first time since the start of the Covid era. We drove around to the Bolinas area and stopped in a very cool wooded park downtown nearby, then went on to Mount Tam’s lookout. Eventually, we went to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful evening with our two younger dogs and our guest dog Fluffly. We stopped for a snack in town as well. It was a lovely day with sightseeing in some of the corners of California many rarely venture to.
