Dad's voice

My dad died on Thanksgiving Day, 1991 after a long struggle with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) which left him speechless the last year or two before passing away.  So it's been over 20 years since I've heard my father's voice and I had forgotten what he sounded like.  I know that might seem strange but it's actually pretty typical.  I have a friend whose wife died a few years back.  For the first two years he didn't change her message on the answering machine because, as he put it, "I didn't want to forget what she sounded like."

 Well, all that's changed.  A few weeks back I found 6 small reel-to-reel tapes in the back of my closet.  They were audio letters my folks and I exchanged during my mission to Argentina (1963-1965) and my first stint with the Army (1966-1968) when I was assigned to South Korea.  I paid a professional to clean up and transfer the tapes to CDs and what a fun surprise.  On the tapes were, among other things:

--Christmas tapes with my mom and dad, sisters Doreen and Diane, and brother Kevin--all very young--opening presents and sharing with me what they had received from Santa. 

--Me playing the guitar and piano (I still play some of the same songs--how's that for being stuck in a rut for over 40 years!)

--One tape of just my dad bringing me up to date on family events.  This one meant the most to me because after all these years I could hear my dad's voice again.  Even as I write this my eyes are tearing up...with love...with gratitude...with memories.  Thanks, Dad, for making that tape and for all you did for me and our family.  I love you.

My dad, William "Bill" Barry, Jr., age 20ish.

Post script:  Maybe all of us parents should think about leaving a video and audio record of ourselves for our children and grandchildren--I know I will be working on this.

Our Alaskan Cruise

Here are some of the highlights of last week's cruise to Alaska with our friends Harry and Dolly Patterson and Karen and Ned Therien.

We departed Seattle on Holland America's Oosterdam on Sunday 17 July 2011.

 Melba with Harry and Dolly on our adjoining verandah.

 Harry with Karen and Ned Therien

The intrepid cruisers!

 The formal dining room.

 Excellently prepared gourmet quality cuisine!

Several times we ate breakfast in our stateroom with an ocean vista.

 We enjoyed our tour of the galley.

 Each evening our steward prepared our room for the night and left a "towel animal" on the bed.  The swan was the first one.

 The elephant.

Loved the monkey best!

Our first two days were on the sea but often within view of the Canadian coastline.

 Breathtaking!

The handiwork of Heaven!

 Heading into Glacier Bay.

 Magnificent glaciers!

What a sight!

 Juneau--capitol of Alaska yet only accessible by plane or boat.

 Visited a commercial garden--this is called a Skunk Cabbage.

Mendenhall glacier.

 Harry and Dolly Patterson at the Red Dog Saloon.

 Interesting decor at the Red Dog Saloon...bear chasing man!

The Barrys, Theriens, and Pattersons.

We rode the tramway up Mt. Roberts.

 Quite a ride on the tram.

You can see what a good time Melba was having on the tram!  :-)

How would you like a house on your own itsy bitsy island?

At Sitka the Russian influence was obvious.

 Another house on a mini-island.

Energetic group of women who perform traditional Russian folk dancing.

 Ketchican, Alaska.

Ketchican.

 Interesting auto decor in Ketchican!

 Staff and crew bid us a final farewell in style!

Our wonderful California vacation

We had a thoroughly enjoyable 12 days visiting with family in Sacramento, Fresno, Visalia, and up at Kings Canyon National Park.  Here are a few of the 70 photos I took.  I will figure out how to make all of them available online.

 

We enjoyed two relaxing days with Melba's brother, David, and his wife, Nancey who live in Sacramento and are a fun couple!

 Melba relaxing in the lobby of the John Muir Lodge.

 Dave and Sylvia, my niece and her husband.

 A cute couple!

 Ernie and Rebecca--another niece and husband.

 Doreen--the matriarch of the Williams clan--and my sister.

 Beautiful part of God's green earth.

 Doreen's husband, John--very humorous fellow.

 Ernie, Rebecca and their son, Max with Sylvia

 John and Doreen--we really enjoyed spending time with them.

 John Muir Lodge--note the snow--they had 340" this year, more than double the annual average!

 Lovely vista.

 Fun to gather round the fire, make smores, and tell stories.

 Mom really enjoyed the photo tribute album we put together for her--in fact, it brought her to tears.

 Rebecca, Trent, and Sylvia

 Diane and Martin

 Mom, John, Dave, William, and Sean

 Doreen, John Steele, Trent, and Sylvia