Totally Off-Topic My First Time Climbing a Ladder

[carolinarider09]

Just because I can. 

My dad was an avid photographer.  After he returned from WWII (from Hawaii) he had a 16mm Bolex Movie Camera.   He took lots of "movies". 

We had most of his movies converted to digital four or five years ago. 

Just thought I'd share part of one of his movies that was a movie of me. 

And yes, as you will note in movie, I used "Three Point Contact" for my first ladder climb. 

And my mom is also in the movie at the end.

https://rumble.com/v74iw0w-first-ladder-climb-1948-1949.html

Oh, my the way, I still have the camera.  It might still be working but I have not verified that. 

[Serk]

Nice!

Coincidentally I found my parent's box of 8mm reels of family history dating back to my grandfather's international travels in 1949 through to the mid 1980's of myself and my sister's birthday parties, Christmas mornings, etc and handed them off to a local digitizing service yesterday...

Look forward to sitting down with my parents to document who's whom before that knowledge is lost, and sitting down with my kids and showing 'em how things used to be...

[DIGGER]

Now that is an old home video.  Very cool.

[f6john]

Priceless family history!

[F6Dave]

Here's a suggestion. Sit down with your parents (or older relatives/friends) and record a video while you ask them questions about their past. Make a list to cover childhood, family tree, early jobs and travel, etc. You'll never regret it when they're gone. I've done it about 4 times and wish I would have done more.

[carolinarider09]

Nice!

Coincidentally I found my parent's box of 8mm reels of family history dating back to my grandfather's international travels in 1949 through to the mid 1980's of myself and my sister's birthday parties, Christmas mornings, etc and handed them off to a local digitizing service yesterday...

Look forward to sitting down with my parents to document who's whom before that knowledge is lost, and sitting down with my kids and showing 'em how things used to be...

 

[carolinarider09]

Here's a suggestion. Sit down with your parents (or older relatives/friends) and record a video while you ask them questions about their past. Make a list to cover childhood, family tree, early jobs and travel, etc. You'll never regret it when they're gone. I've done it about 4 times and wish I would have done more.

Thanks, I will consider that. 

[Rams]

Priceless family history!

What he said!

Saving those memories is something that future generations will enjoy.

Rams

[Serk]

Here's a suggestion. Sit down with your parents (or older relatives/friends) and record a video while you ask them questions about their past. Make a list to cover childhood, family tree, early jobs and travel, etc. You'll never regret it when they're gone. I've done it about 4 times and wish I would have done more.

My dad did exactly this with his dad in the mid 90's, about a year before my dad's dad passed...

I got the video tapes, digitized 'em and put 'em on Youtube so all the family can see 'em.... Around 3 hours of family history...

If anyone's bored and wanna learn more of my family history than my kids are (Currently at least) interested in learning...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m6dilpUTfQ

[cookiedough]

always interesting to find out stuff on who is who in the old pics.  After my parents died, I found some OLD pics from 40s 50s and always wondered who is who.  I asked my aunts/uncles, but my mom being the oldest of 11 kids, they had no clue on who the people were in the pics and never knew the pics even existed.  Always keep wondering to this day who the people are and how they are related to my mom's side of the family. Dad's side of the family, him being the youngest of 10 kids and in north dakota LONG way away,  never knew much of any of his brothers/sisters, but have met a few of his older sisters before they also passed.  Apparently his dad visited us when I was under age 5 so do not remember that as well, only in a few pics from the early 70s. 

Most families did not have video recorders way back in the 40s and 50s so what you have there is special.

[Jess from VA]

No videos for me.

But I have a tremendous amount of photos going back to grandparents, extended family, and my own family from babies forward.  I already had many, but mom divvied the really old ones up between my brother and I (I got most of them), some years ago.  It's a hoot to see her father in a tank top as a young man when he worked as a basketball coach in local JrHi and Hi schools, and her posing with her little dog at 5yrs old (this one is on my wall, together with a whole collection of old family pictures that line one of my stairwells).

Growing up, my mom always kept the walls of our houses covered with framed pictures of family and her own simple water color and oil paintings, and I have continued this in my homes (and have several of her old paintings too).    

What is interesting is that the old film photos retain much better clarity than later film does (which gets washed out badly over time), especially the black and whites, though even the odd rare color film also remains very clear.

I speak with my 96yo mom once or twice weekly on the phone (11-13hr drive away), and part of many calls is me asking her questions about the old days, her childhood, our sibling childhood, dad's time in the Marines.  Some of this I know, and some I have forgotten.  She remains quite clear with long term memory, while both of us have a bit of short term memory trouble.  She enjoys this historical Q & A more than talking about current events, and it sort of gives me a layman's perspective on how she's doing physically and mentally.  She will often tire quickly and want to get off the phone, but when I bring up the old days, she will get going and stay with me on the phone much longer.  I love her so much.  

[HayHauler]

That is something to cherish.  When my Mother refused treatment for her cancer, every chance I got, I rode the Valk to her house on the weekend.  It was a 3 hour ride one way and we didn't really do anything special except visit and watch her favorite TV shows.  I am SO GLAD I decided to do that before she passed.  I can still remember the talks and all of the laughing during my visits.

Hay 
Jimmyt

[carolinarider09]

Dad was in the U.S. Marines in World War II.  He was an aviator/Fighter Pilot.   He flew, I believe, the F4F Wildcat.  I do not know if he was ever in combat.  He never ever talked about his time in WWII and Hawaii. I only have the motion pictures (now video) of his time there. 

My dad is gentlemen on the right side of the video and the start of the video and he is also the one who was the passenger in the Jeep.  The markings on the Jeep indicate that he was in the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214. 

As I said he rarely talked about his time in service and it was only now that I learned the MFAS 214 might have also been known as the Black Sheep Squadron.

There was a TV Series named "Baa Baa Black Sheep".  It was available 1973 - 1976.  I think I remember watching it and I had just left the Submarine Service in late 1973. 

There was also a movie (again I did not remember it but.....), the Flying Misfits which was about the "Black Sheep Squadron".  It was released -1974 as a Pilot for "Baa Baa Black Sheep", or so I just read on line.

I just had no idea that Dad might have been involved with the Black Sheep Squadron until now. 

So, I had to read up on the "Black Sheep Squadron".  Here is a snippet about them.  It is somewhat contrary to the TV Series.

were in fact among the most experienced pilots in the theater. Even the rookies had accumulated high flight hours, and the outfit’s 10 veterans included several with more victories than Boyington. Though they had flown together only briefly before September 16, the results of that first day of combat were unequivocal.

https://www.historynet.com/boyingtons-bastards/

The video referenced above. 

https://rumble.com/v74ntd2-dad-in-hawaii-shortly-after-wwii.html

[Serk]

My maternal grandfather was in the Navy in WW2, in the Pacific. And unlike most vets of that era, he WOULD talk about it, endlessly. And he saw a lot of action.

Sadly, snot nosed little Serk was too busy doing kid things to sit and listen.

We lost him when I was I believe 12.

I'd give quite a bit for a few hours with him and a video recorder now.

[Jess from VA]

That is something to cherish.  When my Mother refused treatment for her cancer, every chance I got, I rode the Valk to her house on the weekend.  It was a 3 hour ride one way and we didn't really do anything special except visit and watch her favorite TV shows.  I am SO GLAD I decided to do that before she passed.  I can still remember the talks and all of the laughing during my visits.

Hay 
Jimmyt

Jimmy, my dad had prostate cancer and was treated for it with radiation (and whatever else they did), and it was gone or in remission a long time.  I was a long way away from them during these years.  Years later, it came back with a vengeance, and he refused all treatment.  My mom pleaded with him to no avail.  I only saw him once or twice after this and he looked bad but remained in good spirits.  But he died very hard.

I never talked with him about it (and he never volunteered anything), and can only assume his experience with radiation was so bad the tough old Marine preferred death rather than going through it again (or maybe just prolonging certain death and suffering anyway).  Mom and he were high school sweethearts, I never heard a cross word between them, mom misses him terribly, and I never bring the subject up with her because it always results in tears.  I miss him too. 

[HayHauler]

Yea, that was her second round of the big C and she would rather die than go thru the torture of chemo again.  She said it was terrible being sick all of the time and she was on oxygen the last 2 years.  She lasted a year and a half after the C was discovered the 2nd time and that was when I visited her.

Hay 
Jimmyt

[3fan4life]

Dad was in the U.S. Marines in World War II.  He was an aviator/Fighter Pilot.   He flew, I believe, the F4F Wildcat.  I do not know if he was ever in combat.  He never ever talked about his time in WWII and Hawaii. I only have the motion pictures (now video) of his time there. 

My dad is gentlemen on the right side of the video and the start of the video and he is also the one who was the passenger in the Jeep.  The markings on the Jeep indicate that he was in the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 214. 

As I said he rarely talked about his time in service and it was only now that I learned the MFAS 214 might have also been known as the Black Sheep Squadron.

There was a TV Series named "Baa Baa Black Sheep".  It was available 1973 - 1976.  I think I remember watching it and I had just left the Submarine Service in late 1973. 

There was also a movie (again I did not remember it but.....), the Flying Misfits which was about the "Black Sheep Squadron".  It was released -1974 as a Pilot for "Baa Baa Black Sheep", or so I just read on line.

I just had no idea that Dad might have been involved with the Black Sheep Squadron until now. 

So, I had to read up on the "Black Sheep Squadron".  Here is a snippet about them.  It is somewhat contrary to the TV Series.

were in fact among the most experienced pilots in the theater. Even the rookies had accumulated high flight hours, and the outfit’s 10 veterans included several with more victories than Boyington. Though they had flown together only briefly before September 16, the results of that first day of combat were unequivocal.

https://www.historynet.com/boyingtons-bastards/

The video referenced above. 

https://rumble.com/v74ntd2-dad-in-hawaii-shortly-after-wwii.html

I loved Baa Baa Black Sheep as a kid!

VMF 214 has more of a history than I realized:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VMFA-214#:~:text=Marine%20Fighter%20Attack%20Squadron%20214,Martin%20F%2D35B%20Lightning%20II.

The unit may have initially flown F4F's but they definitely switched to F4U Corsairs before the end of the war.



The Corsair was the most beautiful fighter plane ever built!

I was surprised to learn that the unit is still active and is currently flying F-35's.