My younger brother, Gregory Lee.  This was taken at the “Filthy Five”, five acres the family owned out in the middle of nowhere, near Perris, California.  Probably taken around 1975 or so…

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This is my mother’s father Hal Clinkenbeard.  He spent most of his life in Memphis, Tennessee working for the Post Office Department.  I met him on several occasions while growing up but I obviously did not know him well.

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In honor of Father’s Day, some snaps of my dad…

This is from Dad’s prospecting days.  He’d drive the ol’ Bullfrog (Jeep) out into the desert and search for precious minerals.  I do believe that would be a Geiger counter on his lap…

Back in those days his day job was managing a fast food joint called The Rite Spot.  He also manned the grill and was a master at cooking and flipping dozens of burgers simultaneously.   I guess he had to be because burgers were like a dime each or 12 for a dollar.   Popular hangout for the local teenagers in Westminster, California until the McDonalds opened up directly across the street.

Dad also always enjoyed doing the yard work.  If he couldn’t find the rake, he’d give a clean sweep with the push broom.

Evening relaxation was a beer, a smoke, and some Marty Robbins on the record player…

During the war Dad served in the merchant marine as a 16 year old and later enlisted in the Army…

And finally, here’s one of Dad (back row, 3rd from left) with his chums in Memphis, Tennessee…
Happy Father’s Day!

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and one new husband.

Well, since she changed her Facebook status, I guess it is okay to announce to the vast readership of LTG that Jenn of I Got 2 Shoes fame has done gone and got hitched.

Jenn and her man Fahid.

Had a nice visit with the happy couple last weekend while they were in town taking care of business at their respective embassies.  Jenn has finished her contract at the hagwon in Ulsan and will be flying home to Canada later this month.

Good luck and much happiness to you both in the future!

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Congrats to Duke and Ji Young on the birth of their beautiful baby girl Kyla Kim.

Now, Duke didn’t pass along any vital statistics like date of birth, weight and length, how long Ji Young was in labor etc.  So all I know for sure is that the baby has an amazing head of hair and the good fortune of having her mother’s good looks!

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So, I was pleasantly surprised to find that my vacation photos had not in fact been lost when I put the memory card in my new camera…

Southbound from Virginia I received a hearty welcome from NC and a place to answer nature’s call.

I was rollin’ down the highway in this fine example of American steel–a retro Chrysler 300.

A fine ride indeed!

Although she did drink the fuel…thankfully Pedro was waiting for me just South of the Border in SC…

Picked my son up from work at the radio network and headed out for dinner in Columbia’s upscale Congaree (river) Vista neighborhood.

Granddaughter Gracyn kept me company at my parent’s house…

The next morning mom and dad and me and Gracie headed out to the ol’ Cracker Barrel for an American-style breakfast.

There’s a knack to doing one of those self portraits…one I obviously lack…

Kevin with the newest addition to the clan, Alexander.  Just turned one year old!

Proof that Kevin was born lucky–sweetheart Lauren…

Lauren, mom and Renee…

Nephew Joshua…

Me and the kids (proof that I’m lucky too!)

Lauren and Renee enjoying Sunday brunch at California Dreaming…

That’s a LG from Korea!

Ain’t he sweet?

I really enjoyed the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum at Dulles…

Ah, give me the days when airlines cared about service…and legroom!

The long trip across the Pacific makes you wish supersonic transport was still available…if not affordable.

That reminds me, I still need to post my photos from Pearl Harbor…

Blackbird singin’ in the dead of night…

The space shuttle Enterprise never left Earth’s atmosphere, but still impressive…

It was really great to see old friends Duke and Dave again and to throw some darts like old times.  Duke’s lovely wife Ji Young seems to have put on a little weight though…

In fact, I do believe she’s even bigger than me these days.  I understand she will be losing the weight in dramatic fashion next week…

Congrats to Duke and Ji Young on the impending birth of their daughter Kyla Kim.

Looking forward to their visit to Korea in August…

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…but I have no pictures.

Sorry about the lack of posts.  I had several written in my head to go along with the photos I took en route and while I was in South Carolina with the family.  Then my camera crashed.  I bought a new one yesterday, but when I installed the memory card from the old camera it erased all my pictures.  I’m beyond irked about that and too irritated to put thoughts to pixels without the accompanying photos.

I will say I had a too short but wonderful visit with the folks, kids and grandkids.  Everyone seems to be doing as well as can be expected.  There seems to be a theme to this trip but I’m going to let those thoughts perculate a little more before I try to articulate them.

Back in NoVA now.  Threw some darts last night with Duke and Dave New.  Always great to see old friends from Korea  adapting well to their new environs.

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Especially mine:

Happy Mother’s Day!

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It is hard to believe my sweet granddaughter is turning 5 years old today.  Where does the time go?

How special is this day?  Well, in Korea it is a national holiday.  Appropriately called “Children’s Day”.

Happy Birthday Gracie!

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A sweet and sad story you might enjoy.

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You gotta love those 80’s hairstyles, don’t you?

Well, Kevin was quite a bit younger then.  And as of today, he’s older still.

I’ll give him this, he wasn’t late for the first birthday party.  Came into this world early in the morning (a little after 6 a.m.) on his due date.

I got to be in the delivery room for his arrival and it was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever witnessed.

Of course,  he’s made his daddy proud ever since.

Happy Birthday Kevin!  I love you.

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I’m always assuming I should be learning and understanding.  But I’m pretty dense I suppose and sometimes I just don’t get it.

So, they say that winners never quit and quitters never win.  I got that.  But then I think, winning isn’t everything.  So now what?

But really, if something is bad or causing you pain, uncertainty, or otherwise creating unpleasantness it is pretty much a no-brainer–you simply walk away.

Then again, if that something is none of those things, but rather simply something other than what you desire it to be–is that a valid reason to let it go?

And so I suppose it just comes down to what you value most.  Four months or four years, all or nothing or take what you can get?

I think sometimes I get disappointed in others not so much for what they do but from a lack of understanding their motivations.  But truth be told, I’m not even sure I understand mine.

Running is an easy option after all.

So, what’s it all mean Mr. Natural?

“Don’t mean shit”.

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Alright then, time for a new feature here at LTG.  It just so happens that I had some old prints digitalized this week.  (kinda ironic how I bought that film way back when, paid to have it developed, and now I’ve paid again to make them into a usable format.).  So, what I’m going to do is pick one everyday and post it.  I may or may not add some commentary, we’ll see how it works out.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Ok, this one is circa 1978 or so.  That’s me and Bridget, the mother of my children (Renee and Kevin) living the good life after moving to Prescott, Arizona.   I have lots of fond memories from those days.  Carrying mail by day and softball by night.  Clean mountain air in the mile high city, and four seasons just like Korea (albeit milder).

Although Bridget and I ultimately went our seperate ways, the kids were always a common bond.  I think it makes for nice symetry that she is now living in South Carolina and enjoying the things she missed through our grandchildren.  Although I regret that I’m missing them now…

Looking back I realize I didn’t have a clue.  Looking to the future, I realize I still don’t have a clue.  But you gotta love it all, don’t you?

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I am pleased to report a recent sighting of some extremely Hairy Chasms!  That’s right, the Big Hominid himself, Kevin, has started posting again at his old blog BigHominid’s Hairy Chasms.  Welcome back!  You have been missed!

I guarantee that you will not find e-vocative posts like this one anywhere else on the web.  So, go give a shout out to Kevin but mind your P’s and Q’s.  Whatever the hell that means…

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Former expat and K-blogger Kevin Kim reports the passing of his mother today.  For those who follow the Kevin’s Walk blog, you will have shared the heartbreaking story of his mom’s struggle against brain cancer through Kevin’s daily reports.  I respect the courage and strength it must have required to so honestly document the last chapter of his mother’s life.

I doubt that any words exist that can bring comfort in such a time of loss.  But I recall something Kevin wrote for Easter in 2005 that I found particularly moving:

Since I and a few people I know are all going through a painful period, each of us for various reasons, I thought it might be good to write about “putting it down.”

In Zen Buddhism, the maxim is “don’t make anything.” Your mind is so often the source of your troubles. You choose to face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune either negatively or positively. Often, at the beginning of a troublesome period in your life, it is difficult to realize how responsible you are for your own choices. It’s easier to shift blame to your surroundings. But ultimately, the healthiest route out of the forest of troubles is to start by looking in a mirror. Behold what’s actually there; don’t needlessly manufacture problems for yourself and others.

I’m not a scriptural literalist, so I don’t believe Jesus rose from the dead. But the story of the passion and resurrection nevertheless holds power for me, because it’s a story about a man who put everything down, including his own life, for the sake of love. How many of us can claim to be ready and willing to do something like that? Not many, I suspect.

Most of us, like little children, cling desperately to our cherished notions, preconceptions, and delusions, unwilling to countenance truth and change. We face the world with fear, and create clever rationales for our spiritual cowardice. In a crisis period, this instinct intensifies. The ego swells to enormous size– everything is about getting hurt, everything is about me, me, me. The world doesn’t understand my pain, and only I am in pain!

I’ve felt like that before. I’ve looked out at a street full of people and wondered why they didn’t see my agony, which was plain as day to me. The world kept right on turning, resisting my egocentric interpretation of it.

And there’s a lesson in that. Life is change, ceaseless change. All we have is this moment. If we try to keep the past with us, we merely create more suffering for ourselves. If we try to hold on to our anger, or our hurt, or whatever it is we’re feeling, we poison ourselves.

It’s better simply to put it all down.

People need time to do this. It can’t be done immediately. If, for example, you’ve just experienced a family tragedy, you can’t be expected to act like the Taoist writer Chuang-tzu, banging on pots and celebrating your wife’s death. No; most of us need time to mourn, grieve, recover. But after that period, we should be ready and willing to move on with our lives, to follow the constant flow of the river.

You can’t see the new life of Easter if you’re always looking backward. Easter points simultaneously to the present and to the future, to hope and happiness and fulfillment. Think positively. Embrace goodness where you find it. Actively seek the good, don’t wait passively for it.

Kevin, wishing you and your family peace, comfort, understanding and acceptance during this time of loss.

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To Matt and Margaret, who became engaged to be married on Christmas morning.

Way to go guys!

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Season’s greetings from Korea, to my family and “fringe” readers.  Wishing everyone, including Catholics, people under the age of 30, Democrats, blacks, muslims and a significant portion of the other minorities including the asian women that do or do not think and act like Michele Malkin) and most especially all you angry scared middle age white men, best wishes for a happy holiday.  And if I left anyone out, Merry Christmas to you too!

I had a house full of Koreans over for a Christmas dinner last night.  Ribeye steaks have become my traditional feast staple in Korea it seems.  I cooked them to near perfection (comparatively speaking, meaning not blackened) and my guests appeared to enjoy them.  I was also pleased that my famous Aunt Pat’s recipe fruit salad was a big hit as well.

This evening I will spend some time with my Dolce Vita family and enjoy a turkey dinner and probably some darts as well.  Hey, I’m easy to please.

I do especially miss being with my children and grandkids on this special day but distance and time never lessen the love I hold for them in my heart.  Thinking of you all!

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The Rubbies suffered a disappointing defeat in the second round of the playoffs at the hands of XOX at Friends bar last night.

The fates were against us as we had to play the match with a “ghost”, forfeiting the legs our unavailable fourth player would have played.  A match can still be won in that situation if everything goes right.  Sadly, my 0-6 performance doomed whatever hope we held for a miracle outcome.

So ends the season.  League play won’t resume until sometime in January.

A disappointing finish to a disappointing season for me.

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Wrapping things up here in South Carolina.  It’s been a nice visit and great to spend time with my kids and family.

As promised, here are some photos.

Son Kevin and daughter Renee…

Kevin’s sweetheart, Lauren.

Dad.

Mom.

Brother Keith.  My other brother, Greg, was unable to make it which was disappointing.  His sons Joshua and Justin were his proxy.

Kevin’s dog Boss.

Tried to capture the sunrise but did not get a good shot.

View from the porch.

Hangin’ out on the front porch.  We spent a lot of time out here, including a pretty wild and extended night of drinking on Saturday.  I bailed at midnight, but the youngins kept on till around 2 a.m. (I could hear them from my room).

My sweet granddaughter Gracyn.  She’s a bundle of energy and this was one of the rare occasions when she was sitting still.

The newest addition to the family, grandson Alex.

We spent some time out on the lake on a pontoon boat.

Lake Marion.

Kevin initiated the tubing (an event I wisely chose to decline participation.)

Lauren then joined in the fun.

Son-in-law Mark handled the Captain duties…

While Gracyn and Kevin kept an eye on the tubers.

Gracyn joined Lauren on the tube for a spin around the lake.

A bird, a nest, a tree, a lake.

Me and Alex.

Smile and the world smiles with you.

Mom and Dad will be celebrating 60 years of marriage which was the impetus for the family get together.

Cedars in the lake.  Prior to damming the Santee-Cooper river to create Lake Marion, this was swampland.  Students of the American Revolutionary War will recall that this is the area where the “Swamp Fox” Francis Marion harrassed the Redcoats. 

The marina.

Our lodging for the week.

So, the kids and nephews started pulling out Sunday night and Monday morning, leaving just me and Keith and the parents.  We figured burgers were a good idea for dinner last night.  After putting them on the grill, we discovered we lacked a spatula.  So, Keith improvised with a fork and spoon.

Smokin’…

So, we encountered a bit of a problem with the grill.  It lost a leg and spilled hot coals on the lawn.  It could have been worse as we had just pulled the burgers, dinner was saved (then served).  Tonight I’ll be going to Maurice’s for some South Carolina style (meaning mustard based) BBQ. 

So, that’s the reunion in pictures.  Early in the morning I will begin my long journey home to Korea.  See you on the other side of the wide Pacific.

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So today I’m celebrating the Labor Day holiday with a quiet day at home and then a doubles dart tourney tonight.  But this day is much more special than that.  Let me tell you why.

I recall a September 7th way back in 1975.  I was playing in a softball game in Orange County, California.  Around the 3rd inning or so, Bridget (my former wife) complained about not feeling well.  Of course, I was all about the game and I advised her to just relax in the bleachers until the game was finished.  At the beginning of the 5th inning, my sister-in-law Kathy who happens to be an RN told me I really needed to take Bridget home so she could lay down.  So, in frustration I relented and told the guys I had to leave mid-game.  I wasn’t happy about it, I remember that.

Yeah, I know.  At 20 I was not the sensitive, caring, emotionally grounded individual that you see today.  You see, Bridget was 8 months pregnant at the time.  On the drive home she kept moaning about “the pain”.  It seemed to come and go every several minutes.  She said she might be going into labor.  Of course, I knew better than that seeing as how she wasn’t due until October.  Being 20 years old and wise to the ways of the world, I confidently told her that she was experiencing what is known as “false labor”.  Despite my reassurances, Bridget continued with her moaning.  So, just to prove my point and said “fine, let’s go by the hospital they’ll tell you the same thing.”

Which I then proceeded to do.  And where two hours later my first born daughter came into this world.

Happy Birthday Renee!  I love you.

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