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Descending the Camarillo Grade

I am descending the Camarillo grade.

Halfway down I see nothing but clouds. The entire landscape is obscured from view.

It’s quite pretty this morning, in a chilly sort of way, and as I approach Exit 50 fog appears.

I can still see the tail lights of the cars ahead of me, and the sound wall, and the curves as I approach, but it’s getting denser now and the road signs are slightly obscured.

Today’s going to be a beautiful day even though at the moment I can’t see it.

Moments like these remind me to be thankful for this place that I live and the people in my life.

Written 28 Oct ’18, before the fires.

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Our Lives, Like Birds

Our lives are like birds.

Sometimes they fly together, sometimes one is above the other, or below, but ultimately every bird falls from the sky.

And yet, we somehow still see them, always flying, even after they disappear.

When they don’t return, we can only hope that they’ve just flown away.

(inspired by a conversation with Ivonne on 13 Sep ’17)

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How Patrick’s Life Choices Affected My Own

Back in January 2015, Christine asked if my Dad’s life choices affected my own. I recorded this response while driving.

Naturally in this vastly interconnected yet simultaneously disconnected world, all things impact all other things. A mosquito bite in Africa can lead to profound consequences in North America. So, yes, there were certainly aspects of his decisions that impacted me, not the least of which was his need early on to strike out on a new life while my sisters and mother and I were left behind—or maybe we were the ones that struck out and he was the one left behind… philosophically, certainly not realistically. Hell, I just lost that thought. Continue reading “How Patrick’s Life Choices Affected My Own”

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Teaching and Detective Work

Transcript of a conversation with Patrick about teaching and being a night watchman. It was very noisy in the restaurant.

Patrick: That was in Eau Gallie. [Florida]

John: Eau Gallie? Ok.

Patrick: Yeah, after that job, my mother in Winter Park had a neighbor who was the assistant principal of a Junior High school in Orlando, Florida. So she talked to him, and he arranged for me to get a job in Orlando teaching school – that’s my last teaching job in Florida.

John: But then you taught later in New York. But then you got fired from that one because of the …

Patrick: Yeah I got fired a lot of times. I tried to make a list of all the times I’ve been fired from. Very interesting. A night detective job … Continue reading “Teaching and Detective Work”

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Newspaper Announcements

Patrick’s old friend Lee sent me the following newspaper clippings from a newspaper archive source.  They announce Patrick’s marriage to Donna, the birth of their first child (me), and the death of Patrick’s mom.

I’m attaching screen shots for the closeups, as well as links to the original PDF files that Lee sent to me.

Thanks, Lee, these are really cool!

P.S. Notice even then that people had a hard time spelling “Dillon”!

Wedding Announcement (PDF)
JPMD Birth Announcement (PDF)
Patrick’s Mom’s Obituary (PDF)
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Certified Letter

Here’s a short autobiographical story by Patrick. The file is dated 12 March 2014.

In our little village here in the mountains, there is a post office still. There are two employees, one for sorting incoming mail and preparing outgoing mail, and one for attending customers, who are few. The office is open only in the morning from eight o’clock until ten-thirty, except Saturday when they stay open until eleven.

After they close, both employees begin the rounds delivering the mail. If there is a certified letter or a package that won’t fit in your mailbox, they leave a yellow notice showing in the slot, half in half out of the box. I suppose that is because nowadays when almost everyone has e-mail there is so seldom any mail you might not check. Continue reading “Certified Letter”

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La Carrera Panamericana

Patrick attended the Prescott Rally with me in 2014 which was a two day affair. He probably would have found La Carrera Panamericana overwhelming, but he would have been very supportive of my participation.

If you’re interested in following the race, for reasons you might guess, here are two sites that should help:

https://lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx (espanol)

or

https://lacarrerapanamericana.com.mx/home/ (English)

and

http://www.eztrakrally.com

Rally on!

JP