When Victoria spoke after this morning’s Shared Silence, I realized that she’d come away from the memorial service for Mack with the same inner question, “How can I be more like Mack?”
An around-the-cabin discussion followed, with much glowing praise for the lost friend. I agreed with every word, and yet I felt as if Mack, had he been among us, would have remarked—with that impish twinkle in his eye—”Man, did I ever pull a fast one on you all…”
It’s been a while since Dana and I shared a day of such relaxed enjoyment. And then she drove away to be with her son, as I faced a tangle of computer cables in the studio, thinking of her.
Josh was quiet, but clearly happy to be among family. I can’t remember the last time there were so many of us gathered together. The “Houseboat Trilogy” was a hit, and Seth deserved to get most of the glory.
Welcome back, Josh. Have a good time before you must return. Forgive us for the fake video violence that we create for amusement. We know that you’re a professional, and that the dangers you face are very real. We can play at fighting only because you volunteer to go to work behind a machine gun.
I’ve already mentioned that “Pirate Revenge” is done and ready for tomorrow night’s premiere. The family has previously seen a rough cut that’s pretty crude (home VCR edit with no sound track). On the surface, there’s nothing profound or meaningful to be found, because the “Houseboat Trilogy” has always been about indulging ourselves with a bit of silly entertainment for some good laughs and a few inside jokes. The original film was silent 8mm, shot in sequence during a 1971 lake vacation. It was short, violent, and very funny. The second part came 17 years later, when we celebrated Mombo and Dadbo’s 40th anniversary at Dale Hollow Lake. We’d made the shift to VHS by then, but it was also a spontaneous, in-camera effort, with some miserably poor post-production to spice it up. Now the characters from “Pirate Waters” had names and a context, so “Pirate Isle” was an instant classic within the Clan.
It looked like the next installment was going to be another of my many unfinished projects. I’d decided to shoot it more like a typical movie—get a lot of takes “in the can,” and then put it all together later. Seemed like a good idea at the time, but I didn’t have any capability beyond splicing clips from the raw Hi-8 footage to a home VHS deck. We recorded that master tape during a long weekend outing to Lake Cumberland in 1993. Brendan and I shot some filler months later, but basically nothing happened for nearly twelve years to bring the series to a conclusion.
But now, in the words of Petey the Pirate Urchin, “Everything’s changed,” because Seth rolled up his sleeves to reconstruct the entire production from scratch as a labor of love, adding his own natural sense of pacing and story coherence. The result goes way beyond my original vision for what was never meant to be more than another goofy contribution to the family archives, and I say that because the clean production quality of the Casablanca editing system at WREB lends an odd credibility to the composed footage. For me, this achieves two things. It provides a more satisfying entertainment experience rooted in our unique camraderie and shared humor, but, beyond that, it captures in one collaborative creation a intensely pleasurable look at the many raw talents and “playtime personalities” of the participants—the acting skills of Brendan in early formation, the not inconsiderable ability of his mother to craft a powerful characterization with minimal screen time, the hilarious histrionics of Jeanne, Susan, James, Jeffrey, Jerome, and others, the touching scenes of my parents together (demonstrating the typical respect they had for our endeavors by playing their roles straight), but perhaps more than anything, Seth’s embryonic media capability, which no one should fail to admire at his stage of the game.
Speaking only for myself, I think this oddball creation should be preserved and treasured forever.
Something buried in the fiber of my marrow will not allow me to discount the augury of birds. In any case, I’ve always been convinced that seeing a blue heron while on a bike ride is a sign of luck, and that observing one take flight while in the saddle is an omen of good fortune, but what do I know about such things?
OK, OK… This evening I also saw two big vultures perched together in a dead tree, but that was before the heron flew over…
Walie wanted to play with toys all day. APS replaced our crashed hard drive with an even bigger one. I had a 150-yard PR time in the pool during my midday workout. The American economy continues to grow. I solved the cascading style sheets problem in the preliminary Website for Kentucky Trust Company. Dana had an informative talk with a local man who recovered from a case of pancreatitis worse than what Bruce has. Seth helped me put the finishing touches on “Pirate Revenge,” the final segment of my goofy “Houseboat Trilogy” (originated as a teen not much older than he). Discovery landed safely and the astronauts held a press conference. Josh had another night’s sleep at the Blue Bank Farm.
Working on the family movie has been fun, and I’ll be somewhat sad to see it finished. I don’t think I can imagine a young person taking a project more seriously than Seth is taking the completion of “Pirate Revenge.” I can tell that it’s a bit painful for him to watch me insert gags and “camp it up” (in the old Dixon manner of my generation), and when we talked about continuing to tweak it, I shared the George Lucas quote, “No film is ever finished, only abandoned.” Seth thought that was depressing. Marty, who came along to work with us one night, wanted to know if I saw the essence of the piece as drama or comedy. I said, “If anyone can tell, then Seth and I have failed.”
After yesterday’s race, I had lunch with David in Lexington and hit the gun show, where we bought supplies for our deer ammo project and I bought a soft case for my Marlin. Dana and I made a connection, drove to Indy, and visited with Bruce until late. Today he mostly wanted to sleep, so we headed to Ohio. I read the conclusion of “The Sparrow” aloud, and the two of us discussed its themes for quite a while. When we got to Sydne’s marriage celebration in Bellbrook, it was a surprise to see her in a wheelchair She’d almost lost a big toe in a freak picture-hanging accident (that’s our Sydne!).
At the reception I struck up a conversation with a local couple, and found it hard to believe that they were of the World War II generation, since they looked younger than that. After about an hour, Ruth got Barney to open up a bit and I found out that he was personally decorated by President Truman. He’d been wounded three times—once by a sniper—and had successfully stormed a Japanese pillbox with a flame-thrower before being captured and sent to a POW camp on the Malay Peninsula, where he’d been tortured for information. I could see that his fingers were permanently disabled. I felt honored to have met him and he just averted his eyes when I expressed my appreciation for his service and the sacrifices he made. His attitude was made clear when he reminded me that he’d lost a lot of buddies and then told me this story: When he met Truman he said, “Mr. President, I don’t think I deserve this.” According to Barney, Truman replied. “I don’t give a damn what you think. Your commander says you deserve this.”
Before we left, Ruth said to me, “He’s been through a lot.”
Bruce… Barney… What have I ever been through?
Earlier in the day I’d read in the newspaper about a staff sergeant from Indiana who’d been injured in Iraq during the invasion and was now on his second tour, having just single-handedly taken out a suicide car bomber before his convoy could be harmed. He was recovering from shrapnel wounds to his face and head.
My Lord… may this nation continue to deserve such men.
(Josh is due to arrive home today for his two-week leave.)
My performance fell short of a medal for the first time in four years at the Coach Plummer Cross-Country 5k this morning. There’s lots of reasons, but, most importantly, I must not cast aside my standard pre-race discipline so easily.
After a reception at the Community Arts Center, we joined Lee and David to share another enjoyable evening together as close friends.
We’ve all seen some bizarre content on the Web, but one has to admit that this page is pretty strange…
Live helmet-cam coverage on C-SPAN 2 of a complex, unrehearsed spacewalk by two astronauts, requiring the coordinated efforts of the Shuttle Discovery crew, the International Space Station crew, and Johnson Space Center controllers—with one spacewalker pausing at the end to visually scan the surface of California until he was able to detect his hometown. (“My Goodness, what a long road from there to here…”) For a lifetime space-program geek, it just doesn’t get much better than that!
I’m trying to figure out how to say something about Andrew’s new film without spoiling it for someone who wasn’t at the Kentucky Theater opening last Friday night. It’s a clever twist on the typical love triangle and has many fine moments. I have enough experience with film/videography to know how much work goes into finishing a project like this, so I have to tip my hat to anyone who puts that much energy into a movie with no budget. I can’t wait for the day when someone gives Andrew the time, dollars, and support to do his best work. I know it will happen because this lad has more persistence than almost any other creative person I’ve ever known. He’ll be successful because he’ll never quit trying. I recall the only time I ever heard my friend Danny talk in public about being an actor, and there were a lot of young people present wanting to know how to break into “the industry.” He told them not to wait for somebody else to hand over an opportunity, but to just get a camera and start creating. I don’t believe Andrew was there that night to hear the advice, but that’s exactly what he’s been doing for as long as I’ve known him. He’s a talented, good-looking young man, but it’s his focused will to make it happen on his own that will be the key to his eventual “discovery.”
— Month of July workout totals: Swim-7; Bike-5; Run-7; Lift-0; Yoga-0.
— The yew shrubs (taxus) in front of our porch had gotten totally out of control the past couple years. I figured I needed to either yank them out or do something radical with their appearance. On Saturday I sat and stared at one of them for half an hour, and then I attacked it with my old lopping shears. We’d seen pictures of how landscapers sculpt these bushes in the oriental style, then began to notice examples (Chicago, Cincinnati) in proximity to “Arts and Crafts” residential architecture. It was worth a try. I was pleased with the result, especially after I used shoe polish to camouflage the pruning scars. I have no idea how old these plants are, but they’ve reached nearly six feet in height and have to be dealt with.
— Bruce is doing better, now that he’s back in the hospital. It’s hard for me to see how they could discharge him last week without ensuring the continuity of treatment essential for his improvement. Much of the routine care he needed fell into disarray or was changed. If it hadn’t been for family…
— While Dana was having her Indianapolis adventure, I was trying my hand at topiary arts, making more stabs at getting back into triathlon condition, and spending some time at David’s range with my two carbines. The 1894s clobbered my shoulder until I learned to hold it correctly. David helped me take off the scope that Dadbo put on it, and that restored it to the desired simplicity. I’ve decided to learn to use this nice rifle with the naked eye. I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable with scope hunting, so I don’t intend to start that. If I can’t get a kill shot with open sights I intend to let the moment pass. The .30-caliber M1 was fun to sight in and proved to be far more accurate than I was expecting, probably due to the influence of some negative Rick Jason remarks published in a book about the “Combat!” series. Or maybe I just happened to get a particularly good example of the WWII-era design. I checked my notes and can’t believe I purchased that gun in 1993. That I just let it gather dust must have something to do with Dadbo dying less than a month later. (Interestingly, my father and Rick Jason were almost exactly the same age. I only just learned that he died in 2000 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but I don’t know any details.)
— Josh should be back in the States on leave by this weekend. There’s a tribute planned for the following Friday evening at Eagle Nest. That should be a memorable gathering and celebration. To top it off, it’s the World Premiere of “Pirate Revenge,” the family short we shot at Lake Cumberland a dozen years ago, but it was never completed as the last installment of the Clan Pirate Trilogy. Marty and Coleman were babies, Brendan was a squirt, and Dadbo made his final contribution to family creativity as “Frank, the old fisherman.” My, how time does fly…
Received word from Dana that Bruce has been admitted back into the hospital. Obviously, the situation with the rehab center was not working out. He just wasn’t getting the level of care to preserve his stability, and so the notion that perhaps he wasn’t ready to leave the hospital is affirmed. Dana drove him back to Methodist herself and ran interference, answering numerous questions that the institution could have made unnecessary, but the ER people didn’t have access to his extensive chart.
Commonwealth of Kentucky
Ernie Fletcher, Governor
To all to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting: Know Ye That
HONORABLE JOHN ANDREW DIXON
having been duly appointed is hereby commissioned as a
Member of the
KENTUCKY BICYCLE AND BIKEWAY COMMISSION
and shall serve for a term expiring October 20, 2008
• Happy Birthday to my favorite stepdaughter…
• Happy Birthday to my favorite Russian composer…
• Happy Birthday to my favorite among favorites…
(I beg your pardon; the last one is totally not a joke.)
Bike, swim, run… within 24 hours…
My life may have changed significantly today, but I’m not actually certain of that yet, and I’ll have to sort it out before I can write about it…
I got an email from the optometrist today, He wasn’t able to provide any answers, but recommended that I see an ophthalmologist for my “interesting” eye deviation (which doesn’t surprise me at all).
Do I want to buy a ticket for this ride? I’d better have a chat with Jerome first.
The Clan Council made its historic decision to expedite the Living Trust on behalf of Mombo. After the meeting I finished most of the trimming in the cemetery and then picked a gallon of blackberries with Marty. Before leaving the valley, I took possession of Dadbo’s Marlin 1894s lever-action rifle—the one chambered in 44 Rem. Magnum. It’s the only firearm of my father’s that I ever had any interest in taking home with me. I’ll find a case for it and then test it out with David at his range.
Meanwhile, Lance Armstrong had a pretty good day, too.
