My friend and I. On the eve of Stephen Carr’s fiftieth birthday.

Thank you for being a positive constant in my life for thirty five years Stephen. You have helped to shape my life with a smile. For that, I will always be grateful.

“Every moment and every event of every man’s life on earth plants something in his soul.”
Thomas Merton

Just got Coopers grade 5 photos. Had to post.

I’ve also scanned a bunch of old photos. You can view them, by linking on the right, to “Family Snapshots”. Or, go straight to the album, with the latest scans, here:  ”The Early Years Carson and Cooper“.

Enjoy.

Read the news tonight on a Facebook post. How fitting. Not on a TV. Not in the newspaper. On the computer. My iMac.

I was introduced to the Mac approx. twenty years ago, thanks to Bob Walmsley, the forward looking proprietor of the printing company I was employed at. Bob decided that we needed to embrace this new technology called “desktop publishing”. I hesitantly volunteered to be the guinea pig and proceeded to enroll myself in a part-time course at Durham College called “Mac for Beginners”.

LCII, Performa, Quadra, Power Computing (Mac Clone), Power Mac, G4, Powerbook, G5, iMac, iPod and iPhone. All have been used at office and home by yours truly. I’ve collected Mac based magazines the way I collected Mad Magazine and Rolling Stone in my youth. I have an employable skill because even at the ripe old age of thirty, a dolt like myself, found it fascinating to click my way around the Apple interface. I have catalogued my childrens lives in words, pictures and video with the aid of my Apple products. So that they may see the wonder that I witnessed.

The last time I felt like this, when someone whom I did not know personally died, was December, 1980 when John Lennon was murdered.

For the profoundly positive effect you have had on my life.

Thank you Steve Jobs.

September 3rd           Silken, Paula Red & some Honey Crisp
September 10th         McIntosh, Honey Crisp, Gala
September 17th         Spartan, Cortland, Empire, Shamrock
September 24th         Macoun (picked), Red & Yellow Delicious, Ambrosia
October 1st                 Ida Red, Mutsu (picked)

via Clarington News & Activities.

Hmmm. What am I going to do with the helmet?

Coop will be riding his bike to school tomorrow, for the first time. We thought it would be prudent to have a run through. Here he is, practicing his bike rack skills.

Cooper was happy with the posted class list. Apparently, the ratio of good guys vs. bad guys, is acceptable.

Grade Five tomorrow. Here’s hoping for a good one!

I call it the "Frontpack". Think it will catch on?

Nervous and anxious Cooper. More nervous and anxious photographer…

Coop and I have spent many hours at Clarington Fields this summer. Lots of catch. Lots of fun. This is what I will remember most, when I think back on the summer of ’11.

Chasing less and less balls as the weeks passed. Coop’s concentration and confidence, improving with each trip to the park. Tossing the ball back and forth, from the moment we got out of the van, until we got back in.

One night. As we were leaving. A young couple drove in and parked on the far end of the very large, totally empty lot. We pondered the notion of driving to where they were and parking next to them. The thought of how uncomfortable the couple would be, had the both us in hysterics.

Cooper. Thanks for playing catch with me.