Evel Knievel (note: I spent many hours on my bicycle on our farm in Toppenish creating ramps to jump. I crashed a lot too. Because, you know, I WAS Evel Knievel! (we didn’t tell mom though). I had the authentic Evel Knievel action figure to prove it!).
Kenny Rogers
Ted Turner
Jon Voight
Christopher Lloyd (“Doc” from Back to the Future—or, if you are older, “Jim Ignatowski “ from Taxi).
Notable people and events in 1938:
FDR was president.
Germany invaded Austria. Adolf Hitler is Time magazine’s Man of the Year.
Orson Welles broadcasts “The War of the Worlds” on the radio and causes mass panic in the US.
Seabiscuit beats War Admiral in their epic “Race of the Century” battle for “best horse” status.
Howard Hughes sets a speed record for the fastest flight around the world at 3 days, 19 hours, 17 minutes.
The non-profit National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, aka: The March of Dimes, was established by President Roosevelt to combat the polio epidemic.
Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
The ball point pen is invented.
The first practical television sets were a year away from being marketed and sold at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
Teflon was introduced.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is playing in theaters.
And Superman makes his first appearance in Action Comics #1. (Let’s just let that rest for a second—Superman and my Dad “born in the same year.” Huh. Coincidence? I think not—after all, have YOU ever seen Superman and my Dad in the same room at the same time? Didn’t think so. BTW: If you had an original copy, or phrased another way, if Grandpa Viktor and Grandma Ida would have gone down to the local whatever and plunked down a dime to gift Dad a copy on his very first day of life, and had Dad kept that copy in pristine condition, and had Dad passed that on to me for, you know, a safe keeping inheritance, that copy of Action Comics #1 would be worth 3.1 million dollars today. Sadly, Dad wasn’t a comic book fan. Dammit.)
Average costs of…in 1938:
Gallon of gas = 10 cents
Loaf of bread = 9 cents
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes = 25 cents for three packages
New car = $763
New house = $3,900
Average worker’s wage per year = $1,730
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And on September 12, 1938,
Wallace Francis Lenseigne
was born.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s a great thing to ponder: “How do you measure a life?” In one way, in addition to filtering things through Dad as our resident Elder, these blog posts can be considered a chronicle of a life being measured. Of one life in particular.
But these are just stories and memories and narratives I’m fortunate to have the ability to set down in digital ink. And I remain in awe that you are still hanging in there as readers. How Dad’s life is measured is up to each one of us to determine. So, whether you share Dad’s bloodline by calling him Dad, or grandpa, or great-grandpa, or uncle, or brother, or cousin, or anything “in-law,”; or have had personal interactions with him over the years, on, say, the farm or during poker parties; or danced with him, or watched him dance; or were on the receiving end of some form of his kindness; or consider yourself an acquaintance of his, or you’ve met him only once; or you have never met him but you are simply getting to know him through his family or by reading a blog one of his son’s is putting together; you are measuring my Dad’s life through the impact he has had, and continues to have, in yours.
If it is true, and I believe it is, that we are simply “helping each other along by walking each other home,” then we are all interconnected on deep, personal, and soulful levels. So we can measure a life though its impact on others. We can measure Dad’s life through his impact in ours.
There was something about Dad, in his kind, gracious, gentle, and humble being, that’s not all that easy to measure. Yes…
My Dad was authentic.
My Dad was genuine.
My Dad had depth.
My Dad had integrity.
My Dad knew the true meaning of work.
My Dad was selfless and simple.
My Dad was humble.
My Dad was all heart.
(I just realized these were framed in the past tense. But that isn’t what is yet meant. Soon, the past tense will be true enough. All of these things are, STILL, true. And none of them truly measure my Dad, anyway.)
So, how do I measure my Dad’s life?
I can’t, really.
To try is to describe the indescribable; to measure the immeasurable.
But this I know: my Dad’s life mattered.
And with each passing moment, its meaning and impact continues to grow in poignancy and relevance.
A few posts ago, I shared how we came to appreciate further the impact my Dad had on others when we were settling mom’s affairs upon her death. A quote I now associate clearly with my father came from Maya Angelou and is reminiscent of that time back in 2016:
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
During that time, we learned of Dad’s virtually universal appeal. Everyone, literally, every one, recalled dad with fondness. People genuinely like my Dad.
And though I cannot prove it scientifically, I’m pretty sure whenever Dad’s name or memory is called forth even still, there is warmth and there are smiles. A pretty great measurement, wouldn’t you say?
Yes, that’s a way my Dad’s life can be measured.
It’s worth though? (with worth being different from meaning):
Priceless.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Although at the time I secretly wished mom would have outlived Dad (because we knew Dad would have a tough go of it alone—turns out, we were right!), I’m so grateful that wasn’t what the Universe had in store for us.
Because, had Dad passed away first, we would have lost perhaps the most profound and truest measure of my Dad that only really surfaced, in all its vulnerable, human, and broken-hearted glory, after mom died.
That measure?
Love.
Happy Birthday Dad!
T plus 102,240 minutes. Each one measured in love.
Thanks Kert! A great read…
There is no measurement of a heart filled with loving memories, for they are as infinite as our love. Happy birthday Mr. L!