Friday, December 18, 2009

Fond Memories of a Golden Anniversary

Last evening, Cheryl, the kids and I attended a 50th Anniversary celebration for Joe and Karen Sipe (Cheryl's Uncle Joe). It was very nice as such celebrations go. A nice slideshow of their time together; speeches by the children and grandchildren; watching the happy couple cut a beautiful cake made by Karen's sister, Judy (Judy made our wedding cake). I couldn't help thinking back several years to the Grand Shindig we hosted for Mom and Dad. The nice trip to Williams; followed by a scenic tour on a steam train and guided tour of beautiful scenery of the Grand Canyon. I looked at photos that I took of that illustrious and memorable weekend. Here are a few great shots for your enjoyment, with commentary to boot.

  This is a nice shot of the Canyon in all its splendor. You might ask, "Tom, why didn't you shoot any family in here?" Well, at the time, Michael was confronting the bus driver, red-in-the-face and yelling incoherently at the man. At the time, the scenery looked much better. I am proud of the fact that Michael could use so many colorful four-letter words in one breath.


I liked this shot. Amazing how nature can create such formations of rock. What was happening here? Dad approached Michael and the bus driver. Michael slapped Dad's hand, clearly signaling that Dad could enter the ring. For the next 5 minutes as fellow tourists watched in horror or disgust, Dad continued the vociferous vocal assault. Now, mind you, Dad has a deep voice and alarming facial expressions when angry. This more than makes up for the disparity in size between the bus driver and Father. A modern day David and Goliath if you will.

It took my Father and Brothers about 30 minutes before the other passengers became convinced we were a dysfunctional family; oh well, that's their loss. Michael soon rejoined the vocal conflict in full support of his patriarch, who's white hair contrasted nicely with the scarlet face and scalp. Bobby threw in a few words as well, just to show his spirit of comradery in this monumental War of Words.

Now that was an Anniversary Gala to remember...