Mac earns another medal, my bloggong partner for 10 years.

This week Mac was awarded a Pride of Australia Medal. You can read all about here.



This is McKenzie J. Gregory, Melbourne Australia. He's 89, a WW2 veteran, retired from the Royal Australian Navy, aide-de-camp to several Australian prime ministers. Now a naval historian Mac honors the sacrifices of Australia's naval forces mostly though his blog.



We met by chance on the web. We've been blogging together for 10 years on Ahoy - Mac's Web Log. Mac writes; I put it on the web. We've published more than a million words. It's been my privilege and honor.



We've never met though we've talked on the phone a couple times. None-the-less I regard him as family.



So I'm delighted that Mac is now on Youtube accepting and commenting on the award.







Congratulation Mac!

I'm not worthy - Stylish Blogger Award - but they are

Thank you, thank you, thank you to Design Chic for passing along the Stylish Blogger Award to Helen Young at Whitehaven who passed it on to me.


But I am so bad at this blog award thing. Nearly all men are bad at this, even truly stylish men. As for me I may have had a bona fide stylish thought - for about 57 seconds - in the early 80's - but it's never been verified. I have no mysteries, no depth, no surprises.

I will mention this one: Atlanta artist/designer: Armas Design. She has quite an eye. She's from a neighborhood near mine, south of Buckhead (SoB).

I enjoy the blogs though, blogs that help me see things and meet people, blogs about people and places I can meet and visit in person. More things like this please at Fat Matts. James, Claire, Blayne, Holly, Helen.


More like these please, out and about, noses not in magazines. Blayne, Niki, Cristi.


At Glenwood Park. Angela and Emmie.


Ally


At Castleberry Hill, loved ones.


At Hankook. Claire, Helen, Capella, Jane.


Erika, Claire, Capella. (Sorry about the eye closed thing Capella, but check out my hair that day!)


Some of the Great Atlanta Bloggers don't like their picture take: BLUE!!

Special thanks to Helen. On Mondays she announces her the Whitehaven House of the Week and I do a drive-by.

And thanks to Helen who invited me to her (aunt) Helen Durant's studio. And for a blog post, I won Helen's wonderful goat, now residing a corner of honor in the jungle office.


Thanks.

Mothers' Day on the porch is not for the serious.

The mothers have left the table but not without a lot of laughs.


Grandma Zella looks a bit too innocent here. She's just made her grown daughters guffaw so hard they are spewing Big-K Diet Cola from their noses. Not a pretty sight, I tell ya'.


But I digress. Mothers' Day started innocently enough. The spawn camped on the sofa communicating in their secret sibling language.


Joe and Zella start off behaving their age, you know, dignified. Their daughter (my wife) wisely keeps the spawn under constant observation.


The cooks tried to conceal their identity. I mean: Hamburgers for Mothers' Day, are you kidding?


Somebody rang the dinner bell.


And that Wizard of Oz color thing happened. We had deviled eggs, corn, potatoes, asparagus...

In this family you'd better keep moving in the buffet line. Zella was creating space with her elbows around the catchup.


Things were deceptively quiet for a few "don't talk with your mouth full" minutes.


In no time the spawn and their mom were warming up their laughing muscles.


Everybody was feeling good. It's nice on the porch. The big table lets everyone talk with each other. We served 9 and could have done 12 with plenty of room.


The stories began.






Now we had to do penance for serving burgers on Mothers' Day: Sundaes.

Here is Rachel's guest, Nick, between the sisters. As a dad of daughters I can appreciate his expression: Sundaes are serious business for the sisters. One false move or word from Nick could be disastrous (for Nick). And will somebody please move the ketchup?


We held our breaths as the masters did their work.


It was over all too soon.


It was exciting and sentimental out there for a while. Our outdoor room went back into hibernation having excelled as a backdrop for family memories.


I'm a bit sad that it's over.

But there always Father Day on June 21.

Happy Mothers' Day and thanks,
Terry

Chirstmas pics (& juggling)

Three of the cousins with balls in the air.


Cousins work on the 1st puzzle. It's a classic Christmas scene at our house:


A calm, colorful scene, looks like home to me:


Our Christmas lunch: BBQ, slaw, hush puppies over-nighted from Kepley's in High Point.


Scanning a Christmas present:


Beard trimmer test:


Went to the Michael C. Carlos Museum




If you like ancient tubs - and who doesn't - the Carlos has one:


Made Russian Tea


"Bananagrams" was amazingly popular, Scrabble, Boggle, anagrams with no math.


A precious memory of Rachel from Christmas, 1985, when hats and drool were the coolest things.


The Christmas juggling video


We'll post a few more.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year,
Terry

Mary Travers R.I.P.

Back when, I don't remember, Robert Hedrick and I went to see Peter Paul and Mary at the Greensboro Coliseum. Was I 12, 13, 14?



I haven't seen Robert in like forever. I'm sure today his friends call him Bob. But I'm a way older friend and I'll always remember PP&M's performance that night and who invited me.

Memorial Day tribute to Jig and Mac

In 2001 I began helping publish the stories of two remarkable men, both veterans of WW 2, John D. Bridgers M.D. also known as Jig or Jigs. and Mackenzie J Gregory also known as Mac.

Jig, a U.S. Navy carrier pilot, is now gone but he left a remarkable family and remarkable memoirs. I had the great pleasure of several visits, BBQ meals, and a road trip with Jig toward the end of his life. His son, and my friend, Carl put Jig's family, war, and career stories on the web. He's in the lower left.


In High Point we know him as Dr. Bridgers, a pediatrician. If you are a High Pointer, in my age range, you may know him that way. If you had Dr. Geddie, as I did, you'll want to read Jig's "The Spaghetti Shaman - Dr. Kenneth Geddie" about another amazing High Pointer.

Mac was sent to sea in 1939 as a 17 year old midshipman in the Royal Australian Navy. Many Americans don't realize that Great Britain was at war for 2 years before Pearl Harbor. After his naval service and career in private business Mac became a naval historian and continues to this day.


I've never met Mac but we have talked twice on the phone. We got together by fortunate chance over the web in 2001. Since then, he's written and I've published more than a million words.

Mac's and Jig's stories have touched folks around the world. So many WW 2 vets are passing on. Families are hungry for information. These stories will be resources for generations to come.

John D. Bridgers M.D., Memoirs and personal remembrances

Ahoy - Mac's Web Log, Naval, Maritime, Australian History and more Mackenzie J Gregory

I salute Jigs and Mac. They've certainly taught me much. The honor has been all mine.