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The recent news about nuclear warfare has reminded me of my late paternal grandfather, who died during the 1980s and who served in the US Navy during World War II. I have wondered about what it would have been like to know him these days. I did meet him a couple of times: in the 1970s when I was two years old (I'll have to find that old picture of me sitting on his lap) and once when he and I visited Dad's rented house on Galer Street (across the street from the old West Queen Anne Elementary School, which was still a school then), on Seattle's Queen Anne Hill. I remember his droopy ears and his black-rimmed glasses.
Dad has told me a fair bit about Grandpa Talley. Grandpa was a Navy Chief, and a radio technician, or "spark." Dad would be called "sparky", as he was the son of a spark.
Grandpa Talley was on board the U.S.S. Dixie at "Operation: Crossroads", July 1 1946, which I guess would be 60 years ago this Saturday. Dad still has the letter that Grandpa sent him from the Bikini Atoll, where the Crossroads tests were conducted. Dad would have been a year old at the time that Grandpa wrote the letter...when Dad invites Kirsten and I over for dinner I will usually stop in Dad's office at least once, to look at old pictures of Dad's salmon and halibut catches, family photos and Grandpa's letter from the atoll.
With a bit of Googling on "operation crossroads" I stumbled on this story, at the Atomic Veterans History Project, by one Harold Bakke, who was a sailmaker on the Dixie. I wonder if he knew old Spark Talley.
Indeed, Kirsten and I are getting married this July! The wedding is not so far away now, and we're making our final preparations...I have taken the lead on getting the ceremony and reception music together. My friends and band-mates from Sun Vow are going to play during the ceremony...while they work out their compositions I have tasked myself with the creation of a four-hour iTunes playlist, to loop in the background during the family reception over the PA at Talaris.
Kirsten and I have talked about music that I might select. She has suggested that I go with soul tunes, songs with mass appeal...for some reason, as I sit here and type this, I get totally intimidated by the idea of making this list. Once I sit down with some CDs and my old laptop this task will seem more "real" to me. Weird...
I generally listen to drone/machine noise music, to vicious heavy metal, all kinds of weird stuff. Now I have to wrap my head around making a list of songs that everyone will enjoy, that people can relax with while talking, eating, etc. Maybe some of the list should include dance music. Salsa music might work...people generally seem to like it, and half my family is Puerto Rican...ah, I'm a terrible dancer, but I have this feeling that I'm going to dance at the wedding, whether I like it or not! :) Kirsten and I have taken some salsa lessons, and I know she loves to move. I need to get over my drek and just get into it...
So comments are welcome...feel free to post lists of what you think would make cool "wedding music."
Yes, I have finally created a page with Blogger. Well, I had messed around a little bit with a MySpace blog, but I'd been curious about starting a blog somwhere other than MySpace for a while, and I've enjoyed reading my friends' Christine and Jennie's pages, so I thought I'd give this site a try.
This is now where you'll be able to find my random rants, complaints, caveats, love songs, lists of neat things, etc. I have also signed up with Audioblogger, so you can enjoy my strange tenor voice...cheers!
