Dad Turns 90!

This past weekend I drove up to Pittsburgh to help celebrate my father's 90th birthday. I was fortunate to have good weather for the drive in both directions, although Saturday - the date of the party - the weather was terrible, with periods of heavy snow and freezing rain. Nevertheless, more than 50 people, including family and friends, turned out to honor The Patriarch. My sister Lisa did a marvelous job of organizing the entire thing, and it turned out to be a wonderful day. Of course, there are pictures ...

I didn't bring my wide-angle lens, so it wasn't possible to get a picture of the entire group, so we did smaller groups ... in this picture, all the members of the extended family who were there gathered for a picture with Dad ...

A large number of Dad's fishing buddies also showed up for a picture ...

My brother Paul, Sister Lisa, and I with Dad. Also in the picture is our old friend Greg, who counts as an honorary member of the family.

Dad was a professional advertising illustrator (not just a "photographer", as he would say) who did his work in the days before PhotoShop and digital imaging made complicated photos easy. Lisa made a number of displays of his work to show how he created special effects back in the day. The photos of the quick-draw artist on the right side of this trifold were from the shoot in which Dad literally almost got shot, because the gunslinger hadn't remembered to check his gun, and discovered it had a live round in it when it went off ... just missing Dad, but ending up in the adjoining ladies' room!

More examples of his work. The center section of the trifold shows how he created a paratrooper in mid-air by photographing the model posing in various positions on a stool, and combining that image with an actual sky image. On the right side of the trifold are pictures showing how Dad saved money by using cheap models ... top right, my sister Lisa and brother Mark sell drink mixes; bottom right, my brother Mark poses with a little tree*; at the top left, Paul nestles in soft blankets; and at the bottom left, our Grandmother Ruth considers buying gas appliances.

Lisa also laid out a large number of photos from Dad's portfolio for everyone to admire. Every photo had a story, and Dad enjoyed telling the stories to everyone who was interested ...

In this picture, Dad tells his stories to our cousin Mary, while Paul and Lisa look on ...

What's a party without a cake?

In honor of Dad's famous mustache, we also had a large number of "Pittsburgh Dad" cookies ... with mustaches!

 The party was held in the large party room at the home where Dad now lives. You can see a little bit of how yucky the weather was if you look out past the card display table ...

What gifts do you give the 90 year-old fellow who has everything? How about a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Ring Toss? ...

It was a wonderful day and a great way to honor the man who brought us into the world and taught us to be who we are today. Happy Birthday, Dad - we all love you!

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* That little tree in the picture was later planted in front of our house ... and eventually grew to 50 feet or more in height!