Thursday, May 31, 2012

A Photo A Day For 6 Months: Day 22~ The Final Countdown



“God grant me the courage not to give up what I think is right, even though I think it is hopeless.”


~ Chester Nimitz

 

 If the United States falls under attack our job is to defend her in the past, present and future. 

~Capt. Yellend (The Final Countdown)


It was a big day for me, and my cameras. Alan and I decided to go to San Francisco to watch the aircraft carrier the Nimitz depart the Golden Gate. The Nimitz had come through the Golden Gate last week, as part of the celebration for the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. We weren't able to go to the celebrations, which was disappointing, but being able to see the Nimitz depart made up for it.


I kinda have a special place in my heart for the Nimitz because it was pretty much the star of one of my favorite movies, The Final Countdown. I don't even know how many times I watched that movie with my dad. 100... 200 maybe... at least 20 for sure. There were several movies that dad and I never missed, and The Final Countdown was right at the top. 


My dad has been gone all most 17 years, but sometimes it feels like he is her with me. I know he would have plenty to say about the state of today's politics. He would have HATED... ahem... strongly disliked George W. Bush. He would have thought Sarah Palin was a twit... to put it kindly... and I think he would be missing Keith Olbermann as much as I do. LOL. He and I had long talks about politics. He was the one who taught me that it's not enough to know how or what you feel about about something, you had to know why you felt the way you did.


It wasn't always easy being my father's daughter... but I know that I am a stronger person for it. I can better understand at my current age what he was trying to teach me, and I try to remember to thank him every day. Although there were some genuinely horrific times in my childhood, I now mostly remember the bowls of popcorn, and the movie rentals. It was a good time. It was the best time. He would have loved seeing that gorgeous ship going under the Golden Gate, just as he did when he left for Asia, during WWII, when he was serving as a merchant marine. Today, he was there with me... smiling... and I could almost hear him asking me to" fix a BIG bowl of popcorn... extra, extra butter... the real stuff... and DON'T TELL MOM!" :)



The Final Countdown (IMDB)

The Final Countdown (Wikipedia)

Chester Nimitz (Wikipedia)

~Me :)


If you would like to join me in my quest to post A Photo A Day For 6 Months, please feel free to jump right in! Just post your photo, come back here with the direct link back to it, and I will include your link with tomorrow's blog post.


Now, go see what my pal Kat has posted...


Kat
http://inmydreamssfk.blogspot.com/2012/05/mental-health.html





1 comment:

jr cline said...

This is a beautiful ship. I enjoyed reading your father. I lost both my parents almost 3 years ago and I think of them often.

Here is my link: http://jrclinephotography.blogspot.com/2012/06/apadf6-22.html