'Selah' is the pure condensation of my life. It is a laissez faire with a determined hard twist. ~ John Gishbaugher

My father is the type of man who races nuns and dodges rain drops, who watches late night TV and makes sardine spaghetti. He's friends with the leprechauns and makes watermelon Easter Eggs. He taught me not only to color outside the lines, but also to color unexpectedly inside them, and that, sometimes, breaking the rules is worth the car chase that ensues. In short, he's a little girl's hero.


This blog is a father-daughter project to celebrate that relationship and get us both back to the keyboard. With his previous writings as a backdrop, we're going to write back and forth and see what happens.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Kaleidoscope

I spent last night going through my father's bag of newspaper clippings, coffee stained notebook papers, and comic book inventories. These are all that remains of his musings from high school, college, and his time as a journalist for the Beaver Valley Sun, after a garage fire destroyed everything else. One piece, he wrote about Nanine's husband (my great grandmother and grandfather), had a line that struck me in particular:



This man was a quiet, black and white corner of a brilliant kaleidoscope world.

Seeing as how it's Father's Day, this seems as good as place to start as any.

All time spent with my father is colorful. Coloring books, Halloween, Indian Rock trips to see the fall leaves, Easter eggs, one hot little red convertible with 16" rims....

I must have taken after Grandpa Joe because Dad and I both know that apart from a few rare moments with stinky fruit and Jack(ie) Handey quotes, I'm about as black and white as they come. So, I guess that makes him my kaleidoscope.

Thanks, Daddio. Everything looks worse in black and white.
Happy Father's Day.

When I think back
On all the crap I learned in high school
It’s a wonder
I can think at all
And though my lack of education
Hasn’t hurt me none
I can read the writing on the wall
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s
A sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to a photograph
So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away
If you took all the girls I knew
When I was single
And brought them all together
For one night
I know they’d never match
My sweet imagination
Everything looks worse
In black and white
Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s
A sunny day, oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to a photograph
So mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away
~Paul Simon
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1 comment:

  1. jmgishAugust 3, 2015 at 8:18 AM

    Studies show infants react quicker to black & white pictures. No one knows why, and most lose that instinct in the toddler years. Some retain it, as have I.

    ReplyDelete

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