the broken eyeglasses on my wall
After teaching a guitar lesson last night, I ran over to Mom’s to go through Dad’s office to help Mom find his will. I was able to find it, which is a big relief. Although my Dad likes to label everything and put every item into it’s own folder that leads to a fairly overwhelming bunch of filing cabinets filled with everything he’s ever bought, sold, thought about buying or selling, bills paid, any medical procedure, retirement plans, anything that floats, the koi pond, the hot tub, GPS devices for his boat, etc.
I did a quick promotion change for the Battleship NJ site, fixed a small error for NitroVideo, watched the Flyers win a thrilling game 7, put together the shadowbox for Tom Willam’s glasses,… oh wait, I never told you guys about Tom’s speech at the luncheon following my father’s funeral did I? Well, here you go, this is sweet…
Tom Williams and my father have been best friends since they were in their early 20s, both out of college and having a great time down in West Palm Beech, FL. Tom is a giant of a man, 6’7″, easily 350 pounds, and also one of the funniest and talented guys you will ever meet. He was a play write and actor at Agatha’s Dinner Mystery Theater in Atlanta, GA during the early 90s.
Sorry, I digress, I love Tom and it’s easy to get sidetracked when I talk about my behemoth “uncle”. Tom was one of the first to stand up and speak at the luncheon, he had notes to recount tales of my father as he knew him. He talked about how no matter how much time passed between their visits, best friends always just pick up where they left off. Unbeknownst to me, it turns out that my father had rather odd habit of breaking/losing Tom’s eyeglasses. He sat on them by mistake, sent them flying overboard whilst sailing, sat on a sleeping Tom and broke them on his face, etc. This eyeglass sacrifice in fact happened in such an infallible manner whenever Tom would see my Dad, he would pack an extra pair of eyeglasses. Tom concluded his speech by pulling his current pair of eyeglasses from his pocket, snapped them in half in his massive paws, handed them to me, and gave me a big hug… well Tom’s hugs only come in one size.
I know it doesn’t look like much, but here’s the canoe … and Yogi… and his tennis ball
And here’s Mr. E watching the Flyers with me… apparently ready for another beer… really should get this guy to do some sit-ups or something.
Me wearing Dad’s watch…
Tom’s glasses…
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 am
That story is so sweet! I love it.
My parents both have enormous filing cabinets full of papers like you describe. I am all for keeping records, but at a certain point it just seems to make things more difficult.
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:45 am
Love the story! Best friends do have a way of picking up where they left off..no matter how long its been. Your dad’s wristwatch looks good on you; nice way to remember him whenever you need the time. There’s a metaphor in there, but I wont bore you with my interpretation.
Love your animals!! Got a great dane myself and a turtle. Looks like Mr. E was ready for bed!
April 23rd, 2008 at 8:46 am
lovely idea with the shadowbox
isn’t it always the small and ordinary things (like a watch) from a person’s life that are the very most precious when they are gone? the things they used or wore everyday. the things that still have some of that loved one’s energy about them.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:06 am
tori – Big Tom is the best, everyone should meet him
kat – Mr E always looks like he’s ready for bed or another meal, more the later
jenijen – it’s very true, i love wearing my father’s watch, Mom wanted me to have it.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
That’s a great story and tribute to your dad. Great idea putting them up on the wall like that. Thanks for sharing, Van.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:32 am
I’m glad you are wearing your Dad’s watch – that’s so very cool! And I love that you framed the glasses. What a wonderful way to honor and cherish your father’s life. How’s the tree growing?? The canoe looks perfect! Gosh you’re going to have so much fun with it!
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:41 am
The story and the shadowbox – very cool indeed. Hee hee – look out, Mr E, sounds like there are kitty calisthenics in your future…
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:52 am
Marty – i like that there’s nothing describing what they are about, it will be a fun story to tell people that visit
On a Limb with Claudia – my back is a little sore right now, but i think i’ll hit the lakes this weekend
Chris – he needs a bowflex i’m pretty sure
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:57 am
Great choice on the shadow box. You should print out this blog entry, put it in an evelope and tape it to the back for one day when the kids are sorting through your stuff. (make sure you delete anything where people talk about Barbara Walters and astroglide probably…just sayin’)
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:01 am
Greata – that’s a decent idea, i could put it inside the backing (note the word backing has no Barbara Wawa – astroglide connotation)
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 am
That canoe rocks, there’s nothing like a well-loved canoe. At least not that I know of.
I love the glasses story, that guy is a real character, and it’s obvious your dad was, too. Those broken glasses are definitely worth preserving.
I inherited my grandfather’s watch, but sadly it wasn’t long before it broke. He had it for decades, and I broke it in a few months. Your post reminds me to look into getting it fixed. Your dad’s watch looks more robust, fortunately, but … be careful!
April 23rd, 2008 at 10:50 am
Tell Yogi that V-Grrrl says he has a very, very nice tennis ball.
I love that you framed the glasses.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:02 am
LOVE the canoe. And Yogi is adorable. And yes, that cat should REALLY do some core work, seriously, wow. Talk about abs challenged. Biggest Loser contender? Maybe? LOVE your Dad’s watch. I got my Dad’s Harvard class ring when he passed. I can’t wear it, but I sure love to hold it from time to time.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:14 am
Apertome – it will be loved some more, now I need to find some hull paint and turn this thing into a shark
V-Grrrl – Yogi loves you
Claudia – well, it’s hard to call it “abs”, he’s really only got one big ab.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:22 am
When my mother was dying she asked to see a former colleague of hers. Their friendship, working and otherwise, spanned thirty years at least, and I knew him and his wife well. I called him immediately and he went to the hospital straight away, and went many more times to hold her hand and talk to her.
When she died, I asked him to speak at her memorial, and his speech was wonderful. He shared a side of my mum that I didn’t know – the young, newly married woman embarking on what would become one hell of a career – and he peppered his speech with quotes from a small book he’d pulled from his suit pocket. When he finished speaking, he walked to me and handed me the book. Every time I see it, or flip through it, I’m reminded of his speech and of the picture he painted of my mother that day.
I love the glasses story. I love that Tom snapped his in half and gave them to you, and that you have them hanging on your wall. I think it’s brilliant, and an awesome tribute to your father and to the friendship he had with Tom.
Now, about your cat. Seriously dude…get him off the hops and on to some sort of weight loss program. He looks more like a door stopper and less like a feline.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:42 am
mamatulip – Mr E is a big Heavy D fan and told me to tell you this…
I see you hangin on the corners with the rest of your girl crew
Standin by the gutter with your booty cutters
Said whos the honey dip down with the money grip
Always got a plan and a scam to get some money quick
Always get with the next man, the one with the checks
And settin up a trap with the sexin
I got nuttin but love for you, baby I
got nuttin but love for you, honey I got nuttin but love for you, baby
I got nuttin but love for you, honey
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 am
What a great story and a great tribute to your dad. I love that you hung them up on the wall.
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:47 am
Great story! You don’t find friends like that too often, I’m glad your dad had an amazing friend like that. The canoe looks great…looks like it needs a princess on it for Viv, though! You’d look manly in a princess canoe…
April 23rd, 2008 at 11:57 am
sugarplumsmom – thank you. there are things that everyone should do in their lives… see the grand canyon and everyone should meet Tom, the grand canyon is only slightly bigger… but Tom can definitely drink more beer
Carolyn – maybe i’ll get a second canoe for princesses only next year…
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:32 pm
I kept the tape from my Dads answering machine.
Every May 24th, I put it in & play it.
“Hi, This is Bill. I’m sorry I can’t take your call, (So am I)
Leave me a message and I’ll talk to you later.” (God, I hope so)
One of these years, I’ll be able to listen without crying.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:45 pm
you know? you alright.
tell teh animal folk that their auntmommy lurves them.
April 23rd, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Oh that last photo of the framed glasses is great.
(but I do love the furballs too…)
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
{digging the shadow box}
April 23rd, 2008 at 1:52 pm
I’m struggling with memories today ..
that is about the bestest sory I’ve heard in a while..
thats what’s gonna make your dad immortal ..yanno
not the genes, the stories
April 23rd, 2008 at 2:00 pm
How cool is that shadow box? I like the idea of writing the story now and saving it in the back of it somehow so someday when YOU kick it your kiddos will have an amazing story about their grampa and his friend in the words of their dad. But don’t kick it for a long time, please.
Yogi’s ball is awesome, where can I get a ball like that,
like Yogi’s ball, I want, I want, Yogi’s ball…
Sorry, I digressed into bad 80s parody there, try to forgive me, I need more sleep.
April 23rd, 2008 at 4:43 pm
Your dad had a good friend in Tom. That’s one of the coolest things i’ve ever read happening at a memorial.
(I might be sniffling a little, but i would deny it if asked, ‘cuz i’m tough!)
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:54 pm
lol…….
April 23rd, 2008 at 5:57 pm
mph.
First the shot of you wearing the watch, then the shot of the broken glasses, socked me. I’m done for.
mph.
April 23rd, 2008 at 6:48 pm
What a great idea– love that you framed them. I like stories like that.
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 pm
LOVE the glasses and yogi’s sweet little face makes me happy
April 23rd, 2008 at 9:29 pm
that cat has got to learn to relax.
April 24th, 2008 at 5:33 am
I was touched by Tom’s speech Van.
When my grandfather passed away I was given his clarinet.
Years have passed, but that clarinet is still there, reminding me of the love and friendship we shared.
Having these physical reminders can help you focus on all the great times you both shared.
April 24th, 2008 at 8:18 am
Catizhere – i’m dreading going down to my father’s sailboat to help mom clean it out
liv – will do
Maureen – the animals are good stuff, it’s true
E – i believe you
Cynnie – true, I have my father’s thick hands, so some of the genes are reminders of him as well. i’m reminded of him every time i struggle fitting with my big fingers to type on my blackberry
logo – yep, paraphrasing Rick Springfield is one of the first signs of sleep deprivation
meno – not many dry eyes in the room after his talk
holly – your fat boy is good at relaxing that’s for sure!
maggie, dammit – i still don’t see what this has to do with miles per hour? were you driving when you left this comment? if so, be careful
Granola-grrrl – all i did was frame it, Tom is real genius
flutter – Yogi has a habit of making me smile a lot too
Franki – seriously, he’s a wigwam, he’s a teepee, he’s two tents.
Peter – indeed, i’m very grateful for my father’s life and i get to inherit all these great friends he made too
April 24th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
What a great tribute! I remember going through my father’s things with my mother. He kept every single card we kids ever gave him. There was a particularly funny patch of years when I was dead broke and struggling to pay for school where I gave him hand written letters instead of a store bought birthday card and they all said the same thing over and over again from year to year. My mom and I ended up giggling so hard over some of the things he kept. It was a good way to start healing.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
Oh, Mr. E. With skillz like that, you’re hard not to love.
April 24th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Mary – yep, this has helped for sure
mamatulip – the overweight lovah loves ya baby
April 26th, 2008 at 10:46 am
Dogs and cats rock. Not much more one can say.
August 7th, 2008 at 10:03 am
[...] got a phone call from Barb Williams, a great friend of the family, wife of Tom Williams (of the broken glasses fame), and also an amazing potter. She wants me to build a website for the Potters’ Guild of Las [...]
May 24th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[...] people as well and boy, I miss them. Tom spent some time telling me why he loves me (he enjoyed my explanation of his broken eyeglasses on my wall) and then why I’m an asshole (for costing him money by introducing him to Modest Mouse and [...]
August 7th, 2009 at 8:15 am
[...] cabin, and New Mexico? Well this is cool. Long time, family friend Big Tom Williams (remember the broken glasses guy?) and his wife Barb have purchased a mountain cabin in Cloudcroft, NM (here’s a cool [...]
November 7th, 2009 at 6:14 pm
[...] anything up while I’m away… stay tuned for pictures… I can’t wait to see Big Tom and Barb and also for them to meet [...]
December 14th, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] here is info on Tree Bears if you’re curious – great rates and you might get to meet Big Tom!… just remember if you do encounter Big Tom… no direct eye contact and give him cold [...]