7/24/15

Summertime and HONOR FLIGHTS


This post will be a disjointed two parter. The first part about summer and my contribution to Sepia Saturday this week.

This summer is dry and hot. Well, it's not hot every day, but quite a few. But recently we've also been getting humidity. That's not something that Northern Californian's are used to. We don't do humid very well. We complain a lot. Just make sure when you're complaining that you're not talking to someone from New York. They roll their eyes and have no sympathy for those of us melting in, what to them, seems incredibly dry and wonderful.

But it's summer and that should mean a trip to the coast. On the east coast they'd say they were going to the shore. Same country, two different worlds.

Though this snapshot was taken in 1953 it could just as easily be today.


Click on image to see it larger.

Sure, the guy with the belly would probably be wearing a speedo and the woman eating whatever it is she's eating might be dressed in a thong bikini. Makes one shudder, doesn't it? Still, it's a day at the beach. As a child I spent a lot of time at beaches. These days very rarely.

The second snapshot should bring back memories of lemonade stands.


Click on image to see it larger.

Ever have your own stand? I did it a couple times as a kid. It was fun, but the vision of making a fortune soon dried up as I sat in my chair waiting for the next customer. What's especially interesting about this snapshot is the corporate angle. This was a cardboard stand you could buy from the Pillsbury company to sell Funny Face drinks. Basically it was like Kool-Aid, but with some names that got Pillsbury in trouble.
In 1964, Pillsbury introduced Funny Face Drink Mix with the names Goofy Grape, Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry, Freckle Face Strawberry, Loud Mouth Lime, Chinese Cherry (later Choo-Choo Cherry), and Injun Orange (later Jolly Olly Orange). Lefty Lemon followed in 1965, along with other flavors. The Funny Face characters, as well as the Funny Face brand were created in 1963 by Hal Silverman, a Creative Director at Campbell Mithun Advertising. When cyclamate was banned, Sweet* 10 and Funny Face had to be dropped, resulting in a $4.5 million loss. Both products were re-introduced after changes, and the drinks became available sweetened and unsweetened. (SOURCE: Wikipedia)
Want one of these stands? There's one for sale on etsy. I've seen a few in the past on ebay. They're always expensive.

Now the second part of my post is something I wanted to post weeks ago when the theme was group photos.

This is my dad's squadron crew, VP-42, taken in 1950 in Iwokuni, Japan.

Click on image to see it larger.

I'm betting that all of these fellas, other than my dad, are dead. My dad was in his twenties when this shot was taken during the Korean war. My dad also served in World War II. There are fewer and fewer veterans alive who served in that war. If you know any who were you might want to tell them about Honor Flights

Earlier this year I was able to get my dad on an Honor Flight. Memories were made that he'll never forget. He was flown from California with 50+ other veterans, male and female, who served in WWII and Korea, to Washington, D.C. to see the monuments built to recognize their service. It didn't cost any of the veterans a penny. Everything is paid for by contributions: airfare, lodging, food, ground transportation. In the three days my dad was gone all he bought were two beers. He had a wonderful time. 

First on the list to be accepted for one of these flights are WWII vets and vets with health issues whose time is running out. Korean vets are also chosen. Eventually they will be honoring Vietnam vets. But it's the WWII vets they are most wanting to take on these trips. The following is from their website:
We fly veterans to Washington DC to visit memorials built to honor their service to the nation.
Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. We transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.
Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, an estimated 640 WWII veterans die each day. Our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out. (SOURCE: Honor Flight)
If you think you might know someone interested in this you can find out about the organization at honorflight.org. There you will also find links to all of the hubs around the US where flights originate. I've spoken to several vets who've been on one of these journeys and each of them has expressed how much it meant to them and what an emotional experience it was.

If a family member served this country and you think they might enjoy this tell them about it, print out the submission paperwork, and send them on an emotional journey to their youth.
__________________

Available at Amazon:
Tattered and Lost: Cakes, Picnics, and Watermelon

21 comments:

  1. Re the beach and your mention of Speedos, can you believe that the Prime Minister of Australia likes to be seen and photographed wearing them when he's participating in water-related events, despite the fact that they are commonly known here as budgie-smugglers? He's a sporty type but gets ridiculed a lot in cartoons etc for wearing them.

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    1. So basically he puts it all out on the table for everyone to decide. Does he strut when wearing them?

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    2. He's definitely very full of his own importance. I don't know that anyone finds it an attractive look.

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  2. That first picture is such a universal one. If you go back 60 years and take a beach photo from almost anywhere in the world, there is such a similarity. I am not sure that would be the case these days.

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    1. I think the people would be less modest and it would probably be a selfie. So I think you're right.

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  3. It is a lovely shady tree you have your drinks stand set up under.

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    1. It's not my stand. I could only wish mine looked this fancy. Mine was a table with cups and a pitcher. I probably had a cardboard box for coins. It was very basic. Not sure my mom even gave me a table cloth. I wish she'd taken a picture of me doing it.

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  4. Great old photos!

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    1. Thank you. They do speak summer to me.

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  5. I never understood how a lemonade stand (or a Funny Face drink stand, which I do remember as nasty stuff) could be much success on a residential street. A stand at the beach though would make a killing!

    I'm glad to learn of your father's adventure with Honor Flights. I have an uncle now 98 who served in the navy in the Pacific. I'll check to see if his family knows about this organization.

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    1. I remember the Funny Face ads on tv, but I have no memory of ever drinking the stuff. Now Fizzies I remember. Especially frozen Fizzies.

      Yes, find out if your uncle would enjoy an Honor Flight. It's a trip he'll always remember. They treat them like real heroes. My dad's group had a motorcycle escort from their hotel and all around D.C. Traffic that was stopped must have really wondered about who was on the buses.

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  6. I've been all over the United States, a good deal of Canada, bits of Mexico, and parts of western Europe and have never been anywhere were people didn't complain about the weather. Who cares what New Yorkers think!. They're just as bad, if not worse, when it comes to complaints about, well, everything. .

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    1. Well they do seem to have a better grasp on humidity than we do out here. Ever been to Manhattan during the summer when there's a garbage strike and you start off in a white shirt and end up in a dusty gray one by the end of the day?

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  7. Well, if NY was on my bucket list it sure isn't now:)
    And I'm sure that guy with big belly was in the hot spring pool at Lightning Ridge when I was there last week.

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    1. I think that fella has been cloned. Or they simply never broke the mold after making the first one. He's everywhere!

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  8. Holland Michigan is a long way from either coast! :) But Lake Michigan is a BIG lake.

    I remember those drinks! I loved Rootin' Tootin' Raspberry!

    My hat's off to your dad - you did him a fabulous honor.

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    1. I don't think I ever tasted those drinks. I wasn't even a big Kook Aid fan. Fizzies did it for me.

      Pass around the information about the Honor Flights. It's something my dad will never forget.

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  9. What a wonderful picture. You are so very blessed to have it.

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    1. And even more blessed to still have him with me.

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  10. You & I have the same summer temperatures! Keep cool this week. 108 on Wednesday? Ugh. We just got back from Tahoe where we had thunder showers 4 days out of 7 but it felt so good - only in the 70s & I went in swimming in the rain anyway. And oh, that blessed cold water!!! :)

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    1. Oh you're making me jealous. I would love to be floating in Tahoe. Heck, I'd love to be doing anything at Tahoe…except sitting in a traffic jam.

      It's going to be a scorcher here today.

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