3 funerals and a wedding

We had the unfortunate problem of having 3 funerals in last 2 days-  so we had reschedule everything we had planned in an already overbooked week.
Tragic and sad as death is, the break from the 'plan of the week' was a welcome one.
Sad, but welcome  as the break was, all were wake up calls on so many fronts, as they were all strangely uplifting and spiritual.
And awakening.
We both got to spend a lot of unplanned time with dear friends.
And got a chance to make a few new ones.
The two oldest people were both over eighty and died with tons of loving friends and family to remember them, and they both affected us all in their own special ways.
Their two services were so different, yet both hit me in between the eyes.
The  (tragically younger than me)  preacher said of one,  
' He was more than just a church member, he gave me the confidence I needed. He gave us all what we needed.
He loved the world with his integrity.'
The other was referred to as,
 'a gentle giant of integrity.'
So true.
Thankfully, that was said by a preacher older than me.
I prefer my doctor, preacher, lawyer, and mechanic to be older than me.
Gives them a bit of gravitas.
They both made a difference in their time here, and that is what I want said about me, when I finally start to make a difference, too, I mean.

The third and youngest one- Natalie's chef at BMW, had adult children with lots of unresolved issues.
That was sudden, tragic, undiagnosed and undetected cancer, and ultimately a wake up call for us to get our unresolved issues... resolved.
Also to  get regular check ups- this was preventable.
Treatable, if caught early.
But the good stuff-
 the wedding.
EA, the little girl of our favorite neighbors, has decided to get herself married. 
To me, she will always be a little seventh grader setting off baking soda rockets in her back yard, yet now she is a grown up college graduate, and soon to be a blushing bride.
The dif between a wedding and a funeral is huge, but aren't they oddly parallel also?
I don't mean that in the Catskills Comedian way; 'Take my wife, please....wacka wacka' -- 
but more as the jumping off point from one life to another, whether willingly and prepared or not.
What ties all of the above together?
Like most of my ramblings, the obscure.
But the obvious.
The mother of the bride went to two of the funerals  and we ended up sitting together.
At both.
There has been no talk, but I continue to fan the flames.
I could not help but think about the upcoming wedding of her daughter, how she looks and seems more and more like her mother each day, and I mean that in the best possible way.
At 211 Culdass ct we have several axioms and razors.
Some old, some new.
Occam's is an elegant one, as the simplest solution usually is.
Heinlein's is always a good one to try when someone is crying- 'I did not mean to hurt you, I am just clumsy and stupid.'
And we have plenty to say about girls, and I am soon to be preaching about boys,
'Pretty is not always nice', and 'Meet the momma, as the apple does not often fall far from the tree.'
Well, little blushing groom, I have 'met the momma' and you will be in good hands 50 years out.
And at your funeral, you will be surrounded  with tons of loving friends and family to remember you, and hopefully they will say that you made a difference in your time here.
Jesus (or the redeemer of your choice and understanding, as I do not have a franchise on understanding the un-understandable)  is coming.
Get busy.
Sorry so preachy- been a weird week.
Posted on Thursday, July 17, 2008 at 23:06 by Registered CommenterKamran Popkin in | Comments1 Comment

more of what I love about America

The Electoral College-
Makes me proud to know there are folks looking out for us.
Same goes for the 'Super Delegates' -shame on you!
Maseratis-
Passed by one the other day. Owner looked so flippin' proud and smug.
Bless him!
Tripe tacos-
I love to see everything being put to use. Same goes for oxtails.

Bush as President (same goes for Clinton, btw!)-
I love that guy! What lovable fella.
As a father of three kids, and owner of two dogs, who have all at one time or another decorated with, bathed in, thrown around liberally, painted with, and consumed their own feces, it is good to see that damn near anyone can be the top guy with the right connections. My brood does not have the right connections, yet, but given time, money, influence, and a good bootlegging side business, all bets are on.
The helium reserves board-
I know we stopped doing it awhile ago, but it makes me laugh outloud that we had one till nearly 2000. Super work, keeping the zeppelins and dirigibles well stocked. Makes me wonder who is watching out for the buggy whip makers.
My beagle-
She is so darn glad to see me in the evenings. Some times, when feeling down, I will zip by the house just to hear how glad she is to see me. Sorta pathetic, but she sure is pleased to bray, 'Daddy's home!'
The kids- ke-4, jct-8, and hk-11-
They are not as glad as the beagle that I am home, but cheerful enough. and always up for a board game.
Duchess-
She of the aqua eyes. She made a beautiful bride, and now with a spiffy, yet heart stoppingly costly, haircut, she is even cuter.
Saucier, anyway.
Seen her blog?  http://blog.suchislifephotography.com
Posted on Friday, July 11, 2008 at 21:13 by Registered CommenterKamran Popkin in | CommentsPost a Comment

gimmie dat cheap pen back!

so I had pizza the other night. drive by, near our house.
the girl handed me a cheap, undecorated, bulk purchase pen and she demanded it back.
are you kidding me?
why don't we eat pizza every night?
no phone number at my fingertips.
how hard is that to fix?
how can a pizza place not have their own pens?
hell, I do. and I don't sell hundreds of pies a day.
Posted on Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 07:42 by Registered CommenterKamran Popkin in | CommentsPost a Comment

I got 'tagged' by my old fave graphic designer, shannon kohn

Jezel pete! Like you don't already know all this junk about me. Sorry !
1. Last Movie I Saw In A Movie Theater?
Just this past weekend, Hancock, by Will Smith

 

2. What Book Are You Reading?

just wrapped up 'Just do it!' check it out! it is life changing.

not that I could ever sell that at my house, but you gotta ask for the business.


 

3. Favorite Board Game?

Scrabble


 

4. Favorite Magazine?

A tie--Fast Company, and the Sun


 

5. Favorite Smells?

Espresso, pizza, grilled steaks


 

6. Favorite Sounds?

A tie--My beagle, braying. My kids, laughing out loud and snorting. Like me.


 

7. Worst Feeling In The World?

Seeing a project come unwound.


 

8. First Thing You Think of When You Wake?

Why is the beagle on my chest? Why is it so dark?


 

9. Favorite Fast Food Place?

KFC, DQ, Jack in the Box


 

10. Future Child's Name?

Lemule Quasimodo.


 

11. Finish This Statement—"If I Had a Lot of Money, I'd…

Live in the mountains on a lake. But near a Fresh Market.


 

12. Do You Drive Fast?

So much that I know my license points status. Intimately.


 

13. Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal?

If KE-4's 15 million bears, dogs, cats, and dollies count, then yes.


 

14. Storms—Cool or Scary?

Cool!


 

15. What Was Your First Car?

Opel Wagon. Baby blue. Still recovering from that. In my blue BMW wagon. Some things never change.


 

16. Favorite Drink?

Summer? Maker's Mark and ice. Winter? Maker's Mark and no ice.

17. Finish This Statement—"If I Had the Time, I Would…

Read more, write more, and exercise more.


 

18. Do You Eat the Stems on Broccoli?

Only if deep fried and dipped in melted cheese.


 

19. If You could Dye your Hair Any Other Colour, What Would It Be?

Bald. Wait...I am already.


 

20. Name All the Different Cities In Which You Have Lived.

Houston, Texas. Tucson, Arizona. Tifton, Georgia. Athens, Georgia. Spartanburg, South Carolina.
.

21. Favorite Sport to Watch?

My kids playing soccer.


 

22. One Nice Thing About The Person Who Sent This To You

She is such a great graphic designer, that one time after a ton of badly laid out, incomplete, and just plain stupid artwork showed up in my prepress dept, someone there said, 'Kamran, go get a job to print from Shannon Kohn. You know her stuff will be right.'


 

23. What's Under Your Bed?

Books, dust, and a very afraid beagle, as a storm is arumble.


 

24. Would You Like to Be Born As Yourself Again?

Yep. Love dat being me.


 

25. Morning Person or Night Owl?

Morning. 0dark30.


 

26. Over Easy or Sunny Side Up?

OE


 

27. Favorite Place to Relax?

My porch, with java. And beagle at feet.


 

28. Favorite Ice Cream Flavor?

Any weird fruit sorbet.


 

29. Of All the People You Have Tagged, Who Is the Most Likely to Respond First?

Now, I tagged….lc, fulkie, and ea. Think none will bite, they are too mature. Too cool.
Posted on Tuesday, July 8, 2008 at 17:12 by Registered CommenterKamran Popkin in | Comments5 Comments

Me little pirate. Fishbait.

 

'Kamran, these babies are driving me crazy. Let's go on vacation!'
Several Summers ago we were on the East Coast Chesapeake Bay area with our two boys, then aged about 5 and 2. 
During the days it was the hottest, brightest, windiest, cleanest, immaculate place I had ever seen.
And I grew up in Arizona.
The nights turned completely opposite, and the gloom rolled in like hot fudge. It was the sultriest, foggiest, dirtiest, grimiest, spookiest place I had ever encountered. It was something like a retro set of  Blade Runner, but without all the lights and glamour. The whole place felt filthy, wet, and nasty. Like a cheap berth on a pirate ship, wrapped in a greasy wool blanket, sleeping in a rat-owned cot. My faded and threadbare old madras shirt clung to me like saran wrap, extra cling version.
It was flipping miserable at night!
'Kamran, you will not believe what have found for us to do tonight!'
Our resident cruise director, Mrs. P., announced grandly that she had scored tickets to the late night 'pirate cruise' and we were all going to love it.
'Like they loved the Bataan Death March', I mumbled.
'Less of that!' she spat. And off we went, into the mist.
The dark, pasty, misty, filthy, sandy, salty night.
The waterfront area was a perfect scene for the boat launch. Scuzzy characters abounded, some on the payroll, others looking for a pocket to pick. The ringers in the crowd were comically overacting, skulking about, stage whispering about 'the cap'n', and loading and checking their vast array of weaponry.
Honestly, I felt a bit half vast at that point. It was crazy late for kids that age- well after nine, and we were in for a two hour cruise.
A  two hour cruise, and no Mary Anne or Ginger in sight.
Lovey was there, in grand fashion.
The Captain, sailing under the self appointed and well earned name of 'Dirty Sal' was a sea salt tart of the highest order. Lurid iridescent lipstick, sloppily applied. A rat's nest of cheap, coarse, recently tousled, platinum blond hair; stuck in place by the nastiest black roots imaginable. She had the bustier, halter, garters, leggings, and assorted other undergarments that were worn slap out and then rejected by the Madonna road show of 1986.
And she was in full grog and gin character, playing it up to the max!
Lovely.
As we lined up in the 'paid full retail sucker' line, one of the one eyed members of the cast came around with an armload of weapons, issued to us all grudgingly. He was followed by the one legged cast member issuing us all comical pirate names.
The one armed guy, with plastic hook, then came along and assigned us duties, titles, and ranks.
I had now become first mate, probably because of my military bearing and stage presence, and dubbed 'Pistol Pete.' I now wore twin single shot handguns.
HK-5 was made gunner's mate, renamed 'Dead -eye Dick', and issued an eye patch, curved cutlass, and a two handed blunderbuss.
Lady queen of Sheba was marked instantly as royalty and given the title of Duchess of Chesapeake and a hat with beautiful plumage, and toddler JCT-2 was dubbed the flatulent Master Lemuel Obediah Browne.
She was playing up the title with grand style.
'Oh cabin boy, oh cabin boy, please bring my baggage aboard!'
They were booty for the coming insurrection.
As we boarded, I caught a glimpse of a few stragglers sneaking aboard on a obscure side gangway.
Scowling, leering, phlegmatic tom fools, bristling with arms, bombs, swords, and ill- fitting hats.
I thought I knew what was coming, so I tipped off 'Dead-eye Dick' and told him to keep a weathered eye out the uprising.
But I think I overplayed my part.
We lit out into the deep waters, and once we got far enough from shore to really get a sense of the absurd verisimilitude, 'Dirty Sal' spun her tale.
And she spun it well! She was so into character, we were all entranced.
She had won our scow in a fixed game of cards, that ended in a brawl. Our boat was taken from her arch rival 'Red Lizzy', who was actively nursing her wounds and plotting her return...and revenge.
Great intro, then she spun into a good half hour of historically rooted local legends of ghost Indian princesses, lost catches of buried treasure, and ruthless pirate raids that left no survivors.
Distance from shore heightened the awareness of our solitude.
We were alone on a ship of fools.
I braced for action.
And we had stowaways intent on taking the ship back by force.
Dirty Sal told more about her run in with Red Lizzy, and Sal spoke of her fear of a rematch with her blood thirsty rival. 
On cue, Red Lizzy unveiled her self, and her gang of roustabouts. She was taking back the ship and ordered us to drop our weapons or walk the plank.
At this point, I should have explained that it was just pretend, but I hammed it up for HK-5.
P'raps a bit too much.
She was really working over Dirty Sal  and the rest of us. And enjoying every moment of it.
As first mate 'Pistol Pete' , I was really getting into this ruse in an unhealthy way. The motion/heat/liquor induced stupor brought out a reaction in me I quickly regretted. I boldly drew my twin single shot handguns and brandished them as only a drunk sailor can.
And I have been a drunk sailor.
The filthy and unshaved first mate of Red Lizzy deftly approached me, blade drawn, and quickly had it on my throat. He said 'Stop your blabbering or I'll cut you into fishbait!'
'Noooooooo!' yelp my little pirate 'Dead -eye Dick', dramatically unsheathing the curved cutlass and tossing the two handed blunderbuss to the Duchess of Chesapeake.
She brandished it with regal poise.
Her hat with the beautiful plumage shook with restrained laughter.
Then the second shoe dropped.
'Drop your blade, or I'll cut YOU into fishbait! Poltroon!' he bellowed.
The whole cast lost their composure and fell out into doubled up laughter.
Our vacation was complete.
Hot and sweaty, but complete.
My little pirate was on the job.
--

 

Posted on Monday, July 7, 2008 at 18:52 by Registered CommenterKamran Popkin in | CommentsPost a Comment
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