Grandpa started as a chauffeur around 1905; it was the early days of automobiles. The car was large, and the driver sat in the open. I recall seeing a few pictures of him wearing a fur coat and boots.

In the 1920s, grandpa was now driving a taxicab for a living. By 1930 had become an owner of a small taxi company. He worked long days inside the garage and still drove a taxi. Then after World War II, he sold the company.

But grandpa was a car guy. 1951-54, his car was a Green Cadillac with whitewall tires. He always washed that car, and the white walls on the tires were painted white for that bright, clean look. After cleaning the car, I often would ride in the front seat to the Mobile Gas Station; they had the flying red horse.

He would pull into the gas station, and three or four guys in blue uniforms would start working on the car. Each one would have a task, pumping the gas, checking the oil and water in the radiator, checking the tire pressure, and cleaning the car windows. All that for about 25 cents a gallon. Between 1951-54, mom would ask her father, grandpa, to babysit my sister and me. We loved it, and off into the back seat of the Cadillac we would go. It always seemed enormous. It was.

3Rd Ave JULY 1944 © by Andreas Feininger Life Magazine

Next, we would head down to Manhattan. From his taxicab days, grandpa had his favorite places. We would stop in businesses all over New York City where he knew people. Many would give us candy. He especially liked 3rd Ave. Back then, the 3rd Ave still had elevated subway tracks, commonly referred to as the 3rd Ave El. Real estate under the elevated subway lines was not considered a prime location. On 3rd Ave, there were many bars, and grandpa took my sister and me to them. We would sit in the big (we were little) booths drinking sodas and eating bar food. Mostly what I remember of those places is they all smelled terrible. I don’t know what prompted this, but grandpa once bought us red cowboy boots. My sister and I still remember wearing them and often bringing them up. When we arrived home wearing our red cowboy boots, I could still see a mom staring at them and saying, “dad, why are they wearing red cowboy boots” and grandpa leaving as fast as he could. I like to think he just wanted to buy them for us.

Through my work, I had daily meetings with clients on 3rd Ave. As I walked up and down 3rd Ave, often eating at some well-known places on 3rd Ave, I would think of grandpa, my sister, his big green Cadillac, and those red cowboy boots.

Why this post—A few days ago, through an ongoing email between friends, I saw this video:

This video reminded me of fond memories of grandpa, who passed away in 1962.

Paul Plaine

David McCullough’s family announced today that he passed away yesterday August 7th.

My work had me out of the studio daily. I would dash from Ad Agency to Ad Agency and other clients that populated the world of media. Mid-town Manhattan is a small city of these companies and people like myself that service them. I often found myself standing next to a well-known person on any given day. One such day it was David McCullough with his wife on 43rd and Madison Ave. I was waiting for the walk sign (I did not dash between moving traffic). David McCullough and his wife came up next to me. Generally, I never spoke to anyone. But, during this encounter, I did. I have just finished reading his latest book, Truman. I loved it like so many of his books, but the Truman book I especially enjoyed. I slightly turned to him and his wife and said I admire your work. He glanced back and said, “ThankYou.” The walk sign appeared, and like all New Yorkers, I quickly dashed off.

American League Player of the Week New York Yankees Aaron Judge hits 43rd home run in 104th game.

https://www.mlb.com/video/aaron-judge-homers-43-on-a-fly-ball-to-center-field-dj-lemahieu-scores

1961 Roger Maris, through104 games, was still sitting on home run number 40. hit in game 96.

The traffic light turns green does not mean you go. Check the traffic left and right, This is what I learned from dad while he was teaching me to drive -1964.

Got a bad feeling when I saw the white truck not slowing down, so I didn’t move. from IdiotsInCars

I have witnessed this, and I have also missed being like the car that was hit.

Dad was a Navy man. As kids, we heard this ancient rhyme often.

Red sky at night, sailors’ delight.
Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.

Time management and motivation have been the enemy for a while, at least for me. I set up a workstation at home. Working from home was never my thing. I have an extensive archive of my photography and intellectual properties. Many will make it from the website to my Fine Art America page as images for sale, and many will not. But I still want to share them. The other factor is what to do with all those images. I am selling the 35mm, 2×2, and 4×5 film originals in an active eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/usr/ballparkprints.

Groundhog Day used to be a fun day between my brother-in-law and me. We were both movie buffs. On this day, we would trade messages referencing Ground Day from the news reports of did the groundhog see or not see his shadow too, the movie. Three years ago, just before sunrise and the groundhog, news reports, Bill passed away. It’s been three years now since I have seen Groundhog Day. Then again, I know how Phil Connors felt in the last two years.