Recalling Julie On Her Birthday
August 14th is Julie’s birthday.1
The Birthday Slide Show
For Julie’s birthday in 1999, Da Boyz & I put together a slide show as one of her gifts. I’ve pulled 25 of those slides to post as today’s Heck Of A Guy Blog entry. Anyone who knows me or has read any of my posts won’t be surprised to find that the original presentation had five or six times as many slides as well as flashing lights, a sound track replete with music and sound effects, animations, and much, much more. Today, however, the 25 slides are presented without such adornments to spare viewers the onslaught of my exuberance. I apologize for the quality of the photos; many, especially the non-digital photos (this was 1999) were in poor shape when we scanned them. And, the design of the slides themselves is of precisely the quality one would expect to result from the expertise, enthusiasm, and love of our then 10 year old and 13 year old sons, who were theoretically under the supervision of their doting father.
I will straightforwardly acknowledge that this kind of post is fundamentally self-indulgent, but, as I’ve pointed out in the past, sometimes I have no choices. Because some folks may have no interest in this presentation and others may find it uncomfortable, I’ve placed the graphics on another page that can be reached by the following link:
I presented the complete slide show for Julie, Da Boyz, and our guests on her birthday, August 14, 1999.
I also presented it less than four months later at her memorial service.
The Heck Of A Guy Blog will return to its characteristically snarky self tomorrow.
Footnote
- Julie Showalter was the fiercely intelligent, sexy, and loving woman and prize-winning author, with whom I had a outrageously wonderful 20 year marriage that ended with her death in late 1999 from cancer diagnosed the week of our wedding nearly 20 years earlier. Many posts on this blog are about her, our unlikely romance, and our life together, and still others consist of her writings. Information can be found at Julie Showalter FAQ. ~back~
Even w/o the songs, sound effects and transitions that transport the slide show from the whimsical to the tender, the slides alone still make me misty-eyed - misty-eyed happy to see the love and joy you shared, misty-eyed sad that life did not afford you decades more together. The two of you deserved every fine day you spent together and many more besides.
Comment by MindSpin — August 14, 2006 @ 2:57 pm