| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| FluffDad |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 07:41:30 AM
I've just been reading some old posts and they brought to mind a couple of Fluffy stories. He took to music almost instinctively, and that included collecting, which was greatly assisted by his winning personality. On one of his first forays with me to a private LP collections sale, he had $75 or $80 in hand. Being an old hand at cruising such sales, I didn't waste much time giving the place a thorough perusal, making note of what I thought were the best bargains and setting back a couple of items I thought had the greatest potential for increased value. One piece I passed on was a double-LP on VeeJay, with the Beatles in one sleep and the 4 Seasons in the other. It was labeled "The International Battle of the Century" at the top of the album. A near mint copy of it sold for over $2,000 in March of this year. Back in '76, the guy was asking $75, which I thought was too high. Fluffy was convinced it was a good buy, but didn't have enough money, having already bought a couple of items. The guy, who'd been very impressed with this humble 12-year-old's knowledge of pop music finally asked, "So you think this is especially significant? How much do you have?" This is after he'd turned down my attempts to negotiate him down. "$35," Fluffy told him. "You know, that sounds like a fair price to me for someone as knowledgeable as you." I've always thought THAT was the really start of Fluffy's record collection despite his different recollection. One of the reasons he picked up so much musical knowledge is that my musical tastes were very eclectic. In my various rock groups I played songs by Buddy Holly (always my favorite) and other pioneers -- like Chuck Berry, Bobby Darin, Elvis, Del Shannon, some of the doo-wop groups, as well as country, British before the invasion (I was playing Cliff Richard before he had hits with "Devil Woman" and "We Don't Talk Anymore" plus the instrumentals by his backup group The Shadows), contemporary Christian, and some garage rock (esp. the Raiders). I even threw in Bubblegum music. When surfing and country-rock came along, I tossed them in as well. When my band played at the San Francisco Whiskey A-Go-Go in '65, I was playing stuff like Johnny Cash's "Home of the Blues," a less well-known song of his. People would come up and ask if we wrote it -- this was in the days before urban cowboys, after all. It was at the Whiskey that I met Brunetta, Fluffy's Mom, now my wife of fifty years. Fluffy can tell you what a marvelous woman she is and what an influence she's been on the caring person you all like. She was a musician, too, by the way -- piano, clarinet and flute, and actually got me to enjoy march music. But it was her versatility that amazed me. She was, at various times, an orthoptist (therapy for the eyes), an orthodontics assistant, a teachers aide, an Easter Seals professional, a Juvenile Justice grants specialist, a U.S. Senate staffer for Sen. Dole, and the local area network supervisor for the computers in two agencies. In addition, she was an irrepressible "do it yourselfer." Thank goodness for that -- as a musician, deejay and award-winning speechwriter, I was next to useless with a hammer and screwdriver. Brunetta and I like to think that our strong Christian faith (now Presbyterian Church in America here Arlington, TX) has contributed to the strong sense of right and wrong, the determination to do right by everyone that people so often remark about Fluffy. He goes out of his way to make sure that he treats each person justly and fairly. When he works FOR someone, he feels it's his obligation to go all out. I think he's always been that way, even with his chores. We're pretty proud of him. I suppose that's why, even when we disagree with him -- and we often do where politics are concerned -- we respect his opinions and listen to the reasons he holds his views. It would be nice if political life in general was more like that. He's extremely blessed to be working for a fine and talented person like Tim, who seems to get better each time we hear him. It's good to see so many folks expressing such loyalty. |
| 10 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tericee |
Posted - 08/21/2006 : 10:08:12 AM
You're right; it should have said endure. I went back and fixed it. |
| PJK |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 3:35:45 PM
quote:
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 08:24:54 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ha, I see where Fluffy gets his punctuation (regarding paragraphs, that is). :)
HAHAHA yeah I thought the same thing.
Also nice you posted this FluffDad!
quote:
A fine man perhaps, but I had to ensure his evil big brother moments when we were growing
ensure or endure?????? Don't feel too bad Teri, I had a big brother and three older sisters who picked on me. LOL One of their favorite things to do was to tell me the object of a game was opposite from what it was so I would lose! meanies  |
| Robin |
Posted - 08/20/2006 : 11:24:58 AM
Hmm.. he's conveniently left those out of our conversations. you must fill me in one day.  Peace, Robin |
| tericee |
Posted - 08/19/2006 : 7:34:57 PM
quote:
Originally posted by Robin
That's sweet of you to share with us a little glimpse of "Fluffy history". You did a good job, he's a fine man. Peace, Robin
A fine man perhaps, but I had to endure his evil big brother moments when we were growing up!
Clove oil, anyone?
teri  |
| KevinLesko |
Posted - 08/11/2006 : 9:41:13 PM
Very cool story, thanks for sharing. |
| Silky The Pimp |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 8:10:15 PM
I thought Fluffy said he was immaculately conceived... ???
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| Arthen |
Posted - 08/09/2006 : 02:07:14 AM
I think it is. I enjoyed the post. Hope you keep on posting. |
| Robin |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 12:47:51 PM
That's sweet of you to share with us a little glimpse of "Fluffy history". You did a good job, he's a fine man. Peace, Robin |
| tbjinv |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 12:43:07 PM
Nice post Rick hope all is going well. |
| enthuTIMsiast |
Posted - 08/05/2006 : 08:24:54 AM
Ha, I see where Fluffy gets his punctuation (regarding paragraphs, that is). :)
Nice to meet you FluffDad. |
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