No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on November 18, 2012

Continuing from yesterday.

I am thankful for Fandom. I have met so many interesting people and done at lot if interesting things because of Fandom. And honestly in some ways it saved my life. It gave me a group of people who were willing to rattle on a topic that I was obsessed with without me feeling strange. It gave me a group to feel part of when I didn’t really part of a group. It gave me life long friends.

Through Fandom I found all kinds of authors to read and a whole bunch of authors who are my friends now. I have met people before their big break. I have become friends with people that I watched on the little screen and the big screen when I was a kid. I have become friends with comic books creators that I read and admired. I have a cool group of friends that all came through fandom.

Fandom opened doors to some of the jobs I have held over the years. My eclectic knowledge I have gotten through fandom has served me well.

I am thankful for conventions. I have run the gambit from attendee to volunteer to staff to pro status. I have learned a lot from conventions. I have participated in discussions that I will treasure always. Like the time at DragonCon I was talking about puppets and theater with Dr. Timothy Leary and a host of others. It was at an Atlanta Fantasy Fair that I first met Peter and we became friends over a series of conventions and later hooked up

I am thankful for all the films I have seen. TV shows I have enjoyed. Books I have read. Music I have listened to. Theater that I have seen. Comics I have read in all forms. Anything that others have made that has entertained me over the years.

I embrace my fandom resume proudly.

I am very grateful to any and all Fandoms I have been a part of.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 17, 2012

I haven’t done this in a couple of years but I thought, considering all that is going on right now, I would revive it.

Every time I post a blog I put at the end “I am grateful” and whatever comes to mind. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the good things in my life.

Thanksgiving is a time, for me, to reflect a little more on what I am grateful for.

I though about breaking down into groups but I think I am going to be a little more freeform about it.

I am thankful for puppets. Kind of broad I know but there is so much of my life that has been influenced by or directly changed by puppets.

My first puppets that I can remember were a Wizard of Oz set you got with Downey Fabric softener. Eventually the plastic bodies were destroyed with excessive but the heads lasted a long time. I think Toto is still kicking somewhere around my parents house.

I loved to watch Kukla, Fran, and Ollie on Saturday mornings. I watched Mr. Rogers and the Neighborhood of Make-Believe was my favorite part of the show. I watched Captain Kangaroo and laughed at the antics of Mr. Moose and Bun-bun. I was older when Sesame Street came on (6 years old) but I enjoyed it with my brothers and sister over the years. The Muppet Show was Must See TV in our household. We had the Center for Puppetry Arts open in Atlanta (still there and still a wonderful place).

Puppets were just part of my life and gave me many hours of joy.

Puppets introduced me to people I might not have met otherwise. Including Neil Gaiman, the Hensons, the Frouds, Peter Davison, David Carradine, John Barrowman, and (most importantly) my Husband. But there are countless scores of other people that I have met through my puppets. I am part of a tribe of puppeteers and I am proud to be part of that tribe. I am thankful for each and every puppeteer I have met in my life.

Puppets were what I first started entering into Art Shows and first felt confident enough to call myself an Artist. I have gotten compliments. I have heard people giggle while looking at them. I have watched children become entranced by the characters I create.

Since then I have built a lot of puppets over the years. I built some for professional productions, some for private collections, some for fun, and some for charity. I love building puppets. It makes me feel good that I can. And there are a lot of people I thank here for teaching me all kinds of different skills that allow me to make them.

So I guess I did make this one a themed thankful.

I am so very grateful for puppets.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 16, 2012

It is sunny for the first time in the morning in at least two weeks. Makes the whole day look different.

I have a number of things that I need to do (what else is new?)

So my schedule for today is dolls and puppet, dentist, and cleaning. Let’s see if I can keep this schedule intact today.

Caroline has Kung Fu sparring this evening. I have to fit her mouth guard to her mouth before that. It is a rather involved process that will lead to the mouth guard fitting exactly.

Last night she had a Girl Scout gathering with a number of the troops. She has a lot of fun with the girls and they made things for the Holiday Light Display that they have at the camp every year. She really grooves on being a Girl Scout like her mom and Grandma.

Need to swap out the lights out front for the holiday lights before Thanksgiving. Hard to believe it is less than a week away. Yikes!

Gas rationing is done on Long Island and most of the gas stations have been restocked.

I need to get Caroline’s breakfast and lunch ready for her and then get her to the bus so she can go to school.

I am grateful for mouth guards.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 15, 2012

It is rather dreary outside right now. There is the promise of sunshine later but that is only a promise. As it stands, it looks like a hot beverage and good book to read kind of day.

However I have a number of errands to run and a project that must get finished today so the books and beverages are going to have to wait.

Sometimes being a responsible adult takes a little more effort than usual. And I always remember the words of the 4th Doctor, “What’s the point of being an adult if you can’t act childish….Sometimes.” And there is a balance to be had between what one must do and what one wants to do. Too many musts on the table makes it harder to do something one wants.

Dear Weather Folk, Please don’t try to hype the weather by warning about storms that are not even going to come close to where Sandy and the nor’easter hit. It is not going to happen on Thanksgiving and we might possibly get some rain on Friday. I think we can tone down the sturm and drang a little because people are still scared.

Oh, gas stations are pretty much back to normal here. However there are still a lot of people dealing with the aftermath of the storms. I have friends who are still cleaning and sorting out what is left of their homes. The biggest need is not clothing but things like sheets and blankets and cleaning supplies. I can’t tell you how many bottles of bleach some of my friends have gone through just trying to keep the mold at bay. Masks and gloves are needed as well. The hazards now are mostly from water damage and chemicals that mixed in the water like diesel fuel from boats that were destroyed in the storm or beached upside down. The local playground is closed for the foreseeable future due to storm damage.

Caroline has her morning routine back in place. She gets up about quarter to 7 and plays or colors or reads until about 8 when she eats her breakfast and gets ready for school. She is off to school about quarter to nine and comes home about 3:40 unless she has an afterschool activity which she now has on Tuesday and Wednesday. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday she has Kung Fu. Monday also is flute lessons. Alternate Thursdays are her Girl Scout Meetings. So she has a pretty busy life. We try to keep the weekends free as possible because of conventions and travel. In between her homework gets done and she practices her flute which she is now getting sound out of more often than not.

Off on errands I go. Should be back by lunchtime I hope.

I am grateful for Green Cloud Kung Fu.

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Posted By Kathleen David on November 14, 2012

Happy Birthday Dad! Hope you and Mom have some special planned for the day. I am figuring she has a dynamite dessert in the works for you.

Caroline says “Happy Birthday Pop-pop! Love you.”

This year I have seen my dad more often than I have in years. We spent a week in Italy together. My parents came up to see the American Ballet in NYC and we saw each other then. Last month we went down to Atlanta for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We saw each other when I was there for DragonCon. And we will be spending time at Christmas.

Dear Da,

I have been thinking about you the past couple of days. I think about you and Mom every day but this was a little more than usual.

My memories pull up all kinds of images.

I remember when I was at Girl Scout Camp and the washer broke down so you had to buy a new one. You told me about this new child washing feature on this machine and in the outlines of the paper you did a bunch of doodles of a child in a washing machine. I have always loved your doodles. I still have a few in my filing cabinet that has followed me all over the place. You can draw both amusing and realistic. I have admired your drawing abilities and honestly wish I could have inherited even a modicum of what you can do.

I remember wearing my light saber cloisonné pin proudly at school. I still have the pins that you made me. Your cloisonné work is treasured by those who are lucky enough to own a piece. It was amazing to watch you work from idea to final pin. I remember when you started collecting older pennies because the new ones didn’t work for enamel because there was so little copper in them.

I remember sitting next to you while you read to me. You and Mom made reading a normal part of the day between books and newspapers. Reading just was part of the day. Reading to me did encourage me to learn to read for myself. Peter and I read to Caroline as she was growing up and now she is a voracious reader. It works. I still have fond memories of the copy of Wind in the Willows that you read to me. I am currently reading the Hobbit to Caroline.

I remember you telling me that you had to convince the framer to frame my Hirshfeld with the matt that it still has. I treasure that piece of art. It hangs over my desk.

I remember walking in the woods, walking on beaches, seeing the Red Woods in California. I remember when we ran the track at Emory before the new gym was built. I remember you taking me to swim lessons at Emory on Saturday. I am grateful to both of you for getting me those lessons. Being able to swim has proven useful over the years. Caroline loves to swim too.

I remember going to the Fox Theater for family movie night. We saw a lot of films on the big screen for the first time. I remember driving home with you and Sean after we had seen three Connery Bond Films in a row. I remember you taking me to a science fiction film festival at Ga Tech. I finally saw the ending of 2001. It was also the first time I saw Bambi meets Godzilla and THX1138. I remember you and Mom taking me to see Logan’s Run for my birthday. I remember after Star Wars opened you made a set of Jawa eyes for Sean (I think) and Mom made him a Jawa costume. He wore that went we went to the Fernbank Planetarium to see a Star Wars music and laser light show.

I had a great childhood. And you were a big part of making it such a wonderful time in my life. Thank you for that. Thank you for putting up with my fandoms and friends. Thank you for teaching me by both word and deed. Thank you for being my dad and being there for me.

I love you Da. I hope you have a good Birthday today.

Love,

Kath
Your eldest Child

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