Posted by Frankly Francis on August 7, 2010 under Personal | 
Well, I’m here to tell you that from personal experience, the answer is yes.
It Begins
I’d like to think that I’ve always been a bit of a romantic, but in high school, I devoted myself to playing in a band for the purpose of lots of sex & drugs & rock-n-roll. Let me be brutally honest – it worked beyond my wildest expectations! In fact, it worked so well, by the time I was 18, I was kind of tired of the whole thing…
It Continues
So, I’ve just about graduated from high school and I go to this superb outdoor concert with my girlfriend at the time. Great bands and great times to be had except that my girlfriend really does not want to be there and really wants to leave. In fact she’s making me so miserable that leaving is the best alternative. So we go.
Then It Happens
On the way out, as I’m walking a little behind my soon to be ex-girlfriend, I see a vision of female beauty approaching me:
Tall, blonde, short-shorts (that’s what we called ‘em at the time), tube top, dangling earrings, calf-laced platform shoes…yeah, that’s the way it was.
I distinctly remember saying to myself, “I should not be leaving, I should be staying to meet this woman.” And let me be very clear here, she was a woman, I was still a boy.
I left with my unhappy girlfriend. So it goes…
Fast Forward
So now I’ve graduated from high school. It’s 1975 for those who care about carbon dating. My close friend, Cocaine Corey, suggests that I go to Hairstyling School. The movie “Shampoo” had just been released (starring Warren Beatty & Goldie Hawn) and Beatty was having a pretty good time. Seemed like a great idea, so it’s off to become a Cosmetologist.
It Really Happens
First day of Hairstyling School. I’m surrounded by a lot of very hip people older than myself. Intimidation is taking its toll on me. I settle into my chair, but realize that I forgot something, so I leave the room.
At the doorway…right smack dab in the middle of the doorway…I mean, at the exact center of the doorway, I literally walk right into (you may have guessed it) my blonde Goddess from the aborted rock concert a few months before. The impact is so strong, we literally almost knock each other unconscious. Not only am I seeing stars, but I’m seeing stars.
She Likes Me
The blonde Goddess, who happens to be a couple of years my senior and maybe not as smart as she should be in picking a guy, actually falls for me and within a few months we are engaged. About one year later to the day we are married. A little more than one year after that our first child is born. Guess we were really stupid or just really in love…
Then...
She Still Likes Me
35 years later. 3 daughters and a few grandchildren. We are still living life’s adventures together. I tell her she has been punished enough by my presence, but she still lets me in the house.
...and now
Like everyone, we’ve had our share of ups and downs, but I would not walk this planet with anyone else.
Frankly,
Francis
P.S. I dropped out of Hairstyling School – I had no talent for it. But I ended up with a whole lot more than a certificate and a vocation!
Posted by Frankly Francis on January 2, 2010 under Personal |
First off, I humbly consider myself lucky and blessed because of the people and circumstances that I have been fortunate enough to have experienced.
Judged by conventional standards, my life has had a lot of high highs and low lows. For me it is just my adventure. However, the last few years have been the most difficult of all. I am intensely curious to see where this all leads me to.
So, as the year begins, I find myself looking forward, more so than usual, to my next revolution around the sun.
Didn’t we just celebrate the new millennium? A decade has passed?
And this Internet thing…any chance it will catch on? The impact of the World Wide Web is both amazing and fantastic.
It’s difficult for me to believe that marijuana has not yet been legalized, regulated and taxed.
Furthermore, we’re making more of this than needs to be made – Gays should be legally allowed to enter into civil relationship contracts that some call marriage. And the exclusion from the military thing needs to go too.
Been watching more TV than usual lately. Dexter, Sons of Anarchy, Stargate Universe. Also been catching up on House and Stargate Atlantis. I know that TV is a legal drug induced vacation from living my own life, but…
Been reading more than usual lately (although I have always been an avid reader) and this pleases me.
I think that we should pay a lot more attention to the Rights of States as opposed to the Federal Government. The United States of America is a Union of States first, not a federal government imposing national rules upon every individual. The foregoing within the Constitution, of course.
I prefer the features and interactivity associated with MySpace, but I continue to surrender to Facebook, being a willing victim of fashion…
Still cannot understand how in these most politically correct times, females, it seems to me, are more denigrated than ever in pop culture, especially music. Even more confused that there seems to be no one objecting. Ladies come on. Your sisters have fought hard before you in a battle that should not even had to be fought.
I am hoping that Stephen King’s “Under the Dome” comes even close to “The Stand.”
Most Americans are a lot more libertarian than they realize. See where you really stand (if you dare) by taking The World’s Smallest Political Quiz at: http://www.theadvocates.org/quizp/index.html
I’m a grandpa now, but in these ever life span expanding days, I consider myself a “junior grandpa” as opposed to my personal concept of a grandpa in my younger days. Gotta say that for me it is pretty cool to have grandkids.
No Chicken Little, the sky is not falling. We need much less emotional reaction and much more empirical evidence in the debate over global warming.
The advances in our technology are incredible. There is a lot to look forward to in the immediate future.
Did we not occupy Afghanistan for the purpose of hunting down Osama Bin Laden? And increasing the current mission there is for what? I don’t like how this is playing out. Oh, and could we please rebuild Iraq already and get our troops home?
As a citizen and even more so as a veteran, I support our military members, but I question our leaders’ use of our military.
I don’t vouch for the accuracy, but if you are feeling the need to Keep Up With The Joneses, check out how you are doing on a world wide basis at: www.globalrichlist.com
If I was silly enough to make New Year’s Resolutions, I would resolve to spend more time on music performance, foreign language study, creating creative travel opportunities, engaging the people I know, meeting new people, and treating writing more as work, as opposed to pleasure.
May The Road Rise With You.
Frankly,
Francis
Posted by Frankly Francis on November 24, 2009 under Personal |
True story. A good story? I hope so. It works for me so I thought I’d share:
A few years ago. Out with a few guys for dinner/drinks. It is work related, but social. I’m low man on the totem pole. We end-up at main guy’s house for a last soda…or many. Sitting outside. Fire going. Mondo stars.
One of the guys looks at the rest of us and asks, “If you could only tell your children one thing, what would it be?” Conceivably, not a light-weight question…
…If you could only tell your children one thing, what would it be?”
Being the restrained guy that I am, I instantly blurted out, I would tell them, “Just be who you are!” The words were leaving my lips and I was listening to them. Just came out of me. Like a spontaneous combustion response.
Had time to think about it and, I stand by it.
There are lots of things to say to our children. All kinds of advice to give. The passing on of life lessons is important. Active parenting is critical. However, for me what’s paramount is not deciding my kids’ way, but being there to help guide them on the pathway of their own choice.
I trust that as a parent (and myself, as an individual) I have lived-up to that.
I’ve seen too many people transformed into something they are not. So many that are what others want them to be. So many that are not fulfilled in their employment. So many that are not what they really wish for themselves.
So,
Just Be Who You Are
Who else can you really be anyways?
Frankly,
Francis
Posted by Frankly Francis on February 13, 2009 under Personal |
I have three daughters, and though they have given names, I prefer to refer to them by their numerical birth order. Thus, my daughters are One, Two & Three.
(From left to right) Three, Two & One
My Dad turned me on to Charlie Chan movies (the black & white days), and Charlie always referred to his eldest son as “Number One Son,” so that is probably where my numeric system comes from…or perhaps it is that no matter how hard I try, I just can’t escape my background in accounting.
I think this is also a very practical way to talk about my kids with anyone else. Why burden other people with the responsibility of remembering your children’s names? My numeric name system to those outside my family is clear and easy. And from my experience, seems to work well.
So as you can figure, in discussion, if I inadvertently say my child’s name, my listeners usually tend to ask: which kid is that? One, Two or Three?
When One became pregnant, I had to consider my numeric nomenclature.
The answer was not difficult to arrive at. Since One is my first child, therefore her first child, in relation to me, is 1.1. Ah, the joys of fundamental mathematics.
1.1
My first grand child, 1.1, is two years old now, but she is still too young to be informed of her designation yet. I can’t wait.
Now the plot thickens, but the methodology holds up. Daughters Two and One are presently simultaneously pregnant, in that relative order. A first child for daughter Two and a second child for daughter One.
According to my system then, One is having 1.2 and Two is having 2.1.
1.2 and 2.1 makes for reciprocal grand children – what a delightful coincidence!
And maybe, I just have too much time on my hands…but most certainly, I have very understanding daughters.
Frankly,
Francis
