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Dad's 79th!

Dad is visiting us this week. We helped him celebrate his 79th birthday on Friday, March 21st! See photos above of his celebration in Panama City Beach!

Thought I'd share some info:

Dad was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 21, 1929. He spent his formative years riding out the Great Depression with his parents: Roy and Mary Catherine. Also along for the journey were his brothers: Carl, Chet, Roy, Robert and his sisters: Grace, Gladys, Mildred, Marie, Myra, Dorothy, and Thelma. Unfortunately, two other siblings: Alfred and Catherine died in infancy.

Dad had as normal a childhood as one can have growing up with all those brothers and sisters vying for their parents and each others' attention!

To escape the craziness, Dad joined the Air Force. His military career took him all over the world - including two tours in that fun-filled/sun-filled Vietnam. For some reason, the tours in country

helped him make up his mind to retire from the Air Force after twenty two years!

In 1955, while stationed at Norton AFB in San Bernardino, Ca., Dad met mom. She was standing in front of a Catholic church petting a dog. Dad said that he looked into her big brown eyes and thought: "if she can be good to that dog - she can be good to me"! Must have been the truth, because they were married for 50 years! (mom passed on July 28, 2006)

Mom and Dad had the luck to give life to four beautiful, talented and highly intelligent children - I am the oldest of those children and being the oldest, I probably inherited most of the above. (Glenn, Mark and Crystal - I am kidding!!)

As with any marriage of 50 years my parents had their tragedies and struggles. Their marriage remained intact.

After retiring from the service, dad had a whole new career with New York Air Brake Co. He was general mgr for many years and retired with twenty plus years.

Over the years Dad has not only been the main bread winner, but he has also helped out in the community, church and been caretaker to many family members.

Events that occurred in 1929:

1. Martin Luther King was born
2. Popeye made his deput
3. Herbert Hoover inaugurated as 31st president
4. Seeing Eye Dog Association formed
5. St. Valentine's Day Massacre
6. First public demonstration of color tv
7. First Academy Awards presented
8. Black Monday and Tuesday October 28th & 29th stock market crashes!
9. Women are declared persons in Britain by privy council
10. First flight over the south pole

Bald Eagle in Homer, Alaska

Rocky and I just layed down $$$ for another trip home! We will be headed up top June 25th and staying thru July 8th. Can hardly wait to see everyone! It will be a good time...bringing David Griffin and Kimmie Miller with us. (our best friends). Until a couple of years ago, Kim had never been out of Florida. David has been remedying that situation: they have recently visited some of our western states where Kim saw her first snowfall. They have been wanting to make a trip to Alaska, but were waiting to go with us so I can act as tour guide. It will be fun to see everything thru their eyes!Some of the info I have shared with them in preparation and for those of you who might be visiting this summer:

1. Men do out number women, but the consensus is "the odds are good, but the goods are odd"!

2. When you leave Anchorage you become part of the food chain.

3. Bears call people in tents/sleeping bags "fast food"

4. Alaska - where the men are men and the women are men!

5. Anchorage has had such an influx of people moving in from Seattle and Cali that the saying goes: the real Alaska is only a few miles/mins away from Anchorage...Anchorage has all the conveniences of any big city i.e., fast food/fine dining establishments, performing arts center, museum, malls, etc...

6. Contrary to popular belief, we do have warm summer days with approx. 20 hrs of sunlight.Summer temps range from the sixties/seventies with low humidity...gorgeous!~

7. If you want to see the real Alaska get off your cruise ship and drive the Seward Hwy., Glenn Hwy, Parks Hwy, etc...ok, ok, we really only have one road, but we call it by different names at different places so we seem more civilized! Get out and meet the people of Ak!

8. Best advice for hiking in the wilderness: ask along your most out of shape friend - this way if a bear does charge - you have someone you can possibly outrun.

9. When out hiking carry a .44 - this isn't used to shoot the bear - its used to shoot yourself if the bear gets ya!

10. Dress in layers...the weather is changeable. Carry raingear, gloves, hat, binoculars, a camera (of course), your ak fishing license with King stamp smile, non skid footwear...

11. Try fishing hiking in areas other than popular tourist sites...unless you like the shoulder to shoulder "combat fishing"

12. If you meet up with a black bear - fight! if you meet up with a brown bear do not run - stand your ground if attacked, curl up in the fetal position and cover your head, play dead and pray! When hiking make sure and make lots of noise and keep dogs on leash - dogs have been known to run ahead - meet up with a bear - run bk to owner bringing bear with them!

13. Alaskans are friendly and helpful people - we pull together!W

WARNING! The beaches surrounding Anchorage are not safe for walking! The glacier silt and mud are like quicksand and can pull you down until you are stuck. If the tide comes in, you are out of luck! There are accessible beaches i.e. at Ninilchik where you can go clam digging.Some of the places I recommend seeing:

1. Drive the Seward Hwy to Kenai Peninsula: This drive will take you on a gorgeous scenic route (on one side of the road you have the Chugach Mtns and on the other side Turnagain Arm). If traveling early in the am or at dusk, watch for Dall Sheep on sides of mtns. and roadside. Especially near Beluga Pt. (oh, yeah, Turnagain Arm is a body of water - it got the name when Captain James Cook stumbled up it got stuck at low tide and had to wait for the tide to turn to sail on...hence the name: " turn again"). Turnagain Arm also offers a rare occurence one of the only places in the world where a "bore tide" occurs - look it up!Some of the best/World Class fishing is to be had on peninsula.

While on the peninsula visit Seward where you can take a wildlife cruise into the Kenai Fijords (see whales, puffins, glaciers and bald eagles).

I recommend Major Marine Tours especially if you are taking children - they have a wildlife biolgist/park ranger who can answer your questions, plus the buffet is great! Also in Seward: the Sea Life Center for a close up look at Alaska marine life.

Exit Glacier - just a few mins drive from main part of Seward....I like this site because you can take a short hike to glacier for a close up view and have a great photo op. Seward is a quaint little fishing port, but can be busy in summer/tourist season. Especially packed during the Silver Salmon Derby and Mtn Marathon in July!

Also on the Peninsula: stop and take a gander at all the combat fishing going on at the confluence of the Russian and Kenai Rivers. There are many hiking and camping areas here, make reservations for camping well in advance!

Drive down to Homer. About halfway to Homer is the town of Soldotna. The visitor center here has lots of info on area and volunteers are friendly and helpful. Good fishing off metal pier at visitor ctr.

Getting back on the road to Homer, stop at Ninilchik and take a few photos of the Russion Orthodox Church atop a bluff overlooking ocean. when the salmon are running, this is a good place to fish and see bald eagles!

Homer - nothing matches the view of Homer and the Homer Spit from the pullout at the entrance to town. On a sunny day, Katchemak Bay glistens like a jewel - ringed by snow dusted mtns. Visit the spit and have a drink in the Salty Dog, a Homer landmark.

2. In Anchorage: visit the Saturday Market where locals sale their wares...walk downtown - for a big city Anchorage is very safe. Have a reindeer sausage while you walk and enjoy the beautiful flower gardens and baskets that adorn our city. Browse in the shops, and visit the Anchorage Museum on 7th. Eat at Humpy's (the Halibut tacos are great!), Glacier Brewhouse, Orso's (fine dining), Simon and Seaforts (fine dining). From the Saturday Market you can also see the Alaska Railroad station. If you love trains, the railroad has a trip to Denali Nat'l Pk and bk that is wonderful! Anchorage has all the fast food restaruants and retail stores that most cities have - and WalMart, of course.

There are two malls: Fifth Ave. Mall downtown and the Dimond Ctr.3. Kids enjoy the reindeer farm near Palmer, Alaska - about a 45 min drive from Anchorage.

On the way to Palmer, you will pass the town of Eagle River. The Eagle River Nature center is the starting point for several good hiking trails - I recommend the Rodak Trail for people with kids. It is a short hike and you end up on a viewing platform with a beautiful view of the Eagle River valley. We have spotted several beaver busily working on their damns here. This hike goes out to that viewing platform and circles bk to the nature center.

The Alaska Zoo in Anchorage- another popular place for families has many of our local wildlife on display i.e., polar bear, brown bear, musk ox, etc....

4. If you are in Anchorage in August, take a ride out to the state fair in Palmer. It is a great way to meet Alaskans and since it is on a smaller scale than most state fairs - it is less stressful and more fun, plus you are surrounded by the majestic Chugach Mtns. These majestic mtns. are usually covered with a light coating of snow at this time, which we Alaskans call "Termination Dust" because it signals the end of summer/fall and winter is not too far off! Be warned that August is usually a wet month in Alaska, so be prepared. Note: our famous enormous vegetables and flowers can be viewed at the fair....a zuchinni as big as a piece of firewood, a cabbage as big as a wheel, huge pumpkins all due to our many hrs of summer sun!

5. Drive the Parks Hwy to Denali Nat'l Pk.

On the way, take a side trip the Iditarod Museum in Wasilla. Also, visit Talkeetna, Alaska the town the show "Northern Exposure" was based on. It is a real slice of Alaska. visit the Fairview Inn for an Alaskan Amber and chat with the locals. Talkeetna is also where many of the climbers get flights to base camp for climbing Denali/Mt. McKinley.Stop at any number of pullouts for photo ops of Denali. If you are lucky, you will have a clear day and get a good pic, but be warned, the mtn creates its own weather because of its size and most days it is cloud covered to a certain extent.

When you arrive in the park, you will have to make reservations to take one of the tour/school bus trips into the park. They do not allow you to drive your own vehicle. We want to keep our beautiful, pristine wilderness just the way it is, so we are as unintusive as we can be. If you do not want to take the bus, you can drive your car in to a certain pt and then must turnaround. This is a shorter trip and you may still see wildlife and of course the scenic splendor of the pk. There is a picnic area at the turnaround. I do highly recommend taking the long tour if you have the time and adventurous spirit. The wildlife viewing ops are fantastic! We have had the good fortune to see many brown bear and their cubs, wolves, ptarmigan, caribou, moose, Dall sheep, etc...Lodges on the outskirts of the park are expensive rooms can go for close to $300.00 in season. Food and gas are pricey here too. Well worth it if you have the $$$ I recommend Princess Wilderness Lodge - the grounds are so pretty and view of the Nenana river is spectacular! Even if you don't stay at the lodge take a walk around the bk for a view of rafters on the river. Also, drive up to the newer lodge - The Grand Denali for an awesome view of the area! Their are less expensive places to stay i.e. Denali cabins which are very nice.

6. Fairbanks - totally diff feel from Anchorage due to its isolation in interior Alaska. The people in Fairbanks are known for their friendliness. Visit the Alaska pipeline area and take a cruise on one of the paddle boats in town. Visit Northpole, Ak home of Santa.

7. If you visit in winter check out Alyeska Ski Area located south of Anchorage in Girdwood, Alaska. Take the Seward Hwy to Girdwood. Premier ski area and great cable car ride to top of mtn. Several great eating establishments in Girdwood. For informal fare try Chair 5 - everything is made from scratch. For nicer dining in I highly recommend the Double Muskey, a fav of everyone. Seven Glaciers restaurant sits at 2,300 feet above sea level offering panoramic views of Turnagain Arm, the Chugach Mountain Range and seven "hanging" glaciers. Enjoy a complimentary tram ride to this casual fine dining restaurant via Alyeska's 60 passenger Aerial Tramway.Unbelievable scenery, friendly people, wildlife viewing, and just the quality of life in ak will make your trip memorable!

Remembering Timmy - Originally posted in December '07

IN MEMORIAM

Timothy Stephen Sellers February 25, 1982 - October 20, 2007

Our son and beloved brother passed away on October 20, 2007. He was our biggest hero.This is his eulogy:

The name Timothy means "Gift from God" and Timmy was exactly that! We were blessed to have him as a son, brother, uncle and grandson even though it was for only 25 years.

We were all inspired by Tim's bravery during his long battle with his medical conditions which included severe cerebral palsy and mental retardation. Teachers, doctors, nurses, therapists and friends all commented on Tim's sweet, loving and happy nature. He was especially known for his beautiful smile. People said his smile would "light up a room" - many times they remarked that all handicapped children are special, but Tim had a shining, angelic spirit that drew you to him.

Timmy, you taught us to value every day and appreciate the simple things in life. How could anyone have a bad day when we watched you enjoy a Frosty from Wendy's, laugh when you were given a mouthful of "pop rocks" candy, cracking up when your dad drove you over a cattle guard/bumpy road, or just enjoy a hug and big kiss?

Tim may have been the size of a boy physically, but there is no doubt that our Tim was a wonderful, strong and brave man! You fought, struggled, cried and kept on battling, Tim! Your courage/determination and happy nature are what helped you to stay with us for 25 years, when the doctors said you would not make it to your 16th birthday!

To quote a poem by Joy Lundberg: "within your child's restricted frame, lies a great and noble spirit". That poem also says: "Learn from him, nurture him with all your heart and soul. And one bright day, beyond this time, he'll rise up well and whole". That day has come, Tim. As Proverbs says: "now there is new life in your soul and grace in your neck. You shall walk in your way safely, and your feet will not stumble". When you lie down, Timmy, you won't be afraid: yes, you will lie down and your sleep will be painless and sweet! You have earned it - we are so very proud of you! Now God has lifted up your hands and feeble knees and made straight paths for your feet, your illness and hurt are turned out and you are healed sweet son! We are grieving because we miss you, but are joyous because we know you are healed and walking into God's arms plus the loving arms of your grandma and Aunt Judy who proceeded you. We love you and are so grateful that you are at peace....