Time to remember

 Time to reflect comes later:

My granddaughter was born almost as far away from 9/11 as I was Pearl Harbor.  I thought that was noteworthy.  For now, remember those who fell victim to the attacks and all the suffering that came after. 

RIP James Earl Jones

As must happen to everyone, the great James Earl Jones has passed away.   To my generation, he will forever be the voice of Darth Vader.  To be brutally honest, that honor wasn't bestowed on him for me and many of my peers until closer to The Empire Strikes Back.  Until then, our younger eyes only saw 'David Prowse - whoever he was - as Darth Vader' on the snippets of credits that we saw.  Even a year later, Star Wars was still generating around the block lines.  The theaters we went to rushed us out the doors to make way for the next batch.  And before VCRs, there wasn't much of a chance to read the credits.  Or desire for that matter. 

So it came as a shock, sometime near the end of the 70s, getting ready for the new SW sequel, that we discovered Darth Vader wasn't entirely Prowse at all, but also someone named James Earl Jones.  Perhaps once or twice I glanced the name, purely by accident, but my young mind likely didn't process it.  But by Empire, I was heading into middle school.  A little smarter and more aware.  

When he did Conan the Barbarian, for many I know that was our first glance at him.  And what a glance. I know today his hairpiece gets quite a ribbing by folks.  But back then, I don't believe I had ever seen him before.  We had nothing to go by.  I was sure it wasn't his real hair, but for all I knew, it wasn't far off.  Not that I saw the movie - too young - but I saw plenty of articles and photos.  

It would be over the subsequent years, as I grew up, that I was introduced to Mr. Jones's impressive body of work.  And his impressive presence.  George Lucas stupidly apologized for saying Jones was chosen for Vader's voice because Lucas was looking for a darker, more sinister voice.  Because darker, black, you know.  It's today.  

But sane people in a sane age get what he meant.  With a voice that would make George Sanders green with envy, he couldn't help but play parts of authority and commanding respect.  Wise, sage like, solid, dependable - these became the stock of characteristics he always seemed to convey.  Even in comedy, you could count on him to the solid as a rock person in a room full of crazy.   Just look at him.  

I know little about his private life, and to be honest, I'm happy with that.  All too often disappointment can follow when you pry into the lives of those you know on screen.  As it is, the gist I had was that he commanded the same respect off screen that his characters did on screen.   Which isn't bad.   

He remains a major part of my cultural awareness.  He was that solid character that perhaps Peck or Gable filled for generations before.  You knew when you saw him that he would bring at least a full letter grade improvement to any film or project.  Despite it all, he will still be Vader with that voice that sent chills down my elementary school spine all those years ago.  RIP Mr. Jones.  And thanks for the lifetime of memories. 

UPDATE:  I wasn't aware of this, but apparently in the original theatrical releases, his name wasn't in the credits.  That came later.  And it was at his initial request.  In a later interview, he explained that he believed he wasn't really 'acting', but was more part of the special effects.  He compared it to the controversy over Mercedes McCambridge and her role in the Exorcist as the dubbed over voice for Linda Blair.  It wasn't until later that, due to a growing awareness of his role in voicing Vader, that he acquiesced and Lucas then added his name, and retroactively added it to future releasees of the original.  Hence why I wouldn't have known in those early years, Star Wars mania though it was.  Fun stuff sometimes, the internet. 

The birthdays continue

Several years ago, I quipped about 'Our time of the year.'  We used to go from our third son's birthday because it was close to the six month mark to Christmas.  Now with our daughter-in-law and the world's cutest baby having birthdays before that, not to mention their anniversary, I have to modify that template.  

But no matter, starting in May now, we have month after month of birthdays.  This is our final summer birthday, and the one that is our own 'autumnal season' marker.  Largely because of my son's requests, we keep any and all references to, and indulging in, fall pastimes until after his August birthday.  So it's with great expectations that we look forward to his birthday.  But in fairness, we look forward to it because it's his birthday, and another chance to look at the sunny side of life, as they say. Especially now that he has his family to share it with.  

As families go, his has had a full, rich, crazy time.  They opened no less than a brick and mortar book store coming right off the chaos and catastrophe that was the Covid era lockdowns.  And that was before they were married.  Then, God decided the family needed a special blessing to get us through these moments of darkness, and they brought our granddaughter into the world.  

Gratuitous candid shot:

Now, I remember being just married all those years ago.  You have your honeymoon.  You have your honeymoon time.  Then life comes along and it's the whole new adventure.   For them, the adventures of life hit soon, and have been on a level that's tough to imagine.  Not just the Covid era courtship and post lockdown wedding, but what they have taken upon themselves to accomplish.  

It hasn't been easy.  The arrival of their daughter, while joy and happiness unimaginable, was in suboptimal conditions.  Sitting in a neonatal ICU unit is never anything that a positive spin can help.  

Yet they've proven amazingly resilient.  They probably handled it better than I would have at that stage in my life. Fortunately not only us, but her family lives in the area as well.  I'd like to think having both families nearby helped, and I know her mom did yeoman's work being there during the delivery and helping them get at least a couple feet back on the ground.

Now, looking at the grandbaby, it's easy to forget the chaos and upheaval and stress of the last year.  I know.  St. Paul says be anxious for nothing.  Call me a Christian in training, but the anxious was easy to fall into, with the nature of her early arrival and the rest of the blitz that hit us over the last year.  Soon we'll be at the anniversary of when everything went bonkers last fall.  This is especially notable as it's Employee Appreciation Week, and we all know what that means. Increasingly that, like Christmas, is when companies today cut jobs and hand out pink slips.  Our prayer is that we've paid our dues for a season, and the better side of blessings will continue to move us forward as God quiets the storms and stills the waves of life. 

One way to embrace the hope is to rejoice in the finer blessings, like another year with our son, his wife and their adorable child.  To share time with the other brothers who we're blessed to have here to gather together, and be thankful for the opportunities to help mom, each other, and by extension, hopefully move on in whatever crazy path God has set out for us.   

So a happy and blessed birthday to our second oldest.  I get now those greeting cards for children that speak of memories of them as little ones, but the pride in seeing the adults and parents they've become. 

As a sidenote, as my vision problems correct themselves and I look forward to new lenses that may seal the deal and get my eyesight back on track, I have to say the blessings still outweigh the problems, and for that, I am thankful to the Almighty. 

The family - an amazing year and a half

Mn mom overlooking the festivities

Don't mind saying he makes us proud

Five feet high the cake and three may eat abreast