- I remember being so young and small and Papa being so tall and big. When he lifted me up in his arms or on his shoulders- I felt like a giant, like I was riding a wild animal. I remember his explosive, percussive voice, sometimes a low hum. I do not remember all of the words he spoke. I do remember many great ideas, many theories about life, people, his clever mind, curious mind, observant mind. David and I saw Papa most of our childhood, Thursdays or Tuesdays and weekend days. We took a couple trips to Hawaii and Mexico- and of course Disneyland and Great America. Also a few camping trips. Our weekly time we spent lots of time driving. Squished in his car, stopping here, stopping there, meeting this person, meeting that person. He always wanted us to meet people and for them to meet us. We went to the beach for sunset a lot and watched a lot of movies. We ate out almost every meal- McDonalds, Sushi, Burritos, and pizza, except for the couple times I can remember him cooking spaghetti and pesto. We would go boogie boarding on the weekends, I would ride on his back for the big waves-which were most. I remember his laugh, the weight of his on our shoulders, the feeling of being in his presence and not knowing which way he was going to turn, we were going to turn. Like being on his back, a wild animal, sometimes slow, mostly fast, always surprising. Like Life.
- March 25, 2010 8:36 PM
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Carla's memories of her father
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One of my favorite pictures is of you an david and Tom boogie boarding at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica. It was back in film days, so I'll have to find it and scan it and post it - give me a day or two
ReplyDeleteMe and Woody came to San Francisco every summer growing up. One of my favorite memories is boogie boarding with Tom. He would take us to all the best beaches and we would spend the entire day in the water catching waves. I learned some of my best boogie boarding skills from Tom.
ReplyDeleteThe last time I saw Tommy was when i was 16 years old and it was 1968. I had spent the summer in Europe with my family and was driving back to the West Coast. Tommy was living in this old Victoria house with his Mom, Anne Oppie and Joe. Tom's room was painted entirely black. Ceiling, floor and walls. We went to see a movie called "Blow Up." Afterwards, Tom never went home but spent the night in the streets of Ann Arbor. Never will forget that night. Very interesting family. Anne Oppie was way before her time. The next night I crashed the car that was bought in Germany and flew home. A summer to remember.
ReplyDeleteMy mother was Annie Oppies room mate in college in a small college in Iowa. The other memory is driving to NYC in the back of a station wagon with all the Wehrer kids. I have no idea of the Wehrers remember the Whitmores but I sure remember Tom and the Wehrers.
John Whitmore
Seattle
John Whitmore