Gin Rummy Popcorn...

In the 70's life changed for us.

  Dad was no longer in show business.  We moved back to Portland.

We were broke. 

A lot of cool things can happen when you're broke... 

the best thing was the Addie Bobkins Cocoon broke away, 

and from it, emerged "Bob the Dad"!  

A dad who could go on vacations with us... 

a dad who could relax and have "Gin Rummy Popcorn" on Saturday afternoons!

RECIPE:  Pop some Old Fashioned Popcorn, 

smother it in butter, find an old black and white movie, start dealing!  Deal quickly before your opponent can organize their cards... make funny noises to fake them out... laugh till you pee!  I absolutely LOVED our lazy afternoons together.

He tried to teach me how to count cards, but to no avail. 

He DID succeed in instilling a love of movies!   Comedies... dramas... musicals... mysteries... it didn't matter!  While our buttery fingers slithered on the Bicycle Cards,

I learned the wonders of Abbot & Costello... Humphrey Bogart... Katherine Hepburn... Fred Astaire... Judy... Marilyn... Frank...

Happy Father's Day Daddy

Vertigo is on!

You deal...

Obla Di Obla Da... life goes on...

Seems impossible that he's been gone eight years... 

I still miss him every day... yet the tears are not as often, 
and are quickly replaced with a smile  and a rousing rendition of 
Obla Di Obla Da!

Would we have seen him before he died, had Jocey not entered our world?

Dad almost flew on his own wings to meet his Great Granddaughter!

I fight the urge to relive that weekend...  

We shoulda coulda woulda stayed longer had we known it was our last visit... 

But something tells me daddy knew...  

 The Great Addie Bobkins is alive and well... living in all of us!

If you listen closely, you can hear his bongos..

Obla di... obla da... life goes on...

Peter and Puff

Happy Birthday Peter Yarrow... 

the man who wrote a little diddly called Puff the Magic Dragon...

Puff was dad's theme song... 

he sang it everywhere he went... all the time... in front of crowds... 

or privately at the bedside of a little boy with leukemia...

Peter, Paul and Mary came on the show in 1964, honoring him with a GOLD RECORD

for helping PUFF rise to #1 on the charts! 

To this day I can't hear it without my heart swelling with pride, and my eyes filling with tears.  

I don't want to hear the controversy about the meaning of the words.  

It is simply a sweet song about growing up...

After daddy died, a book with beautiful illustrations was released

This is the first time this song has been put into book form...

Everyone has their own vision of "Puff"... I was worried that it would ruin it for me...
but I think it is perfect...

But the best part is the ending... Little Jackie Paper is all grown up...
and it is now his daughter's turn to frolic in the autumn mist...
in a land called Honalee

I found an autographed copy (by Peter)

at Powell's of course!

a fitting gift for my baby brother,
don't you think?

I know a lot of times I write about my father and his show Addie Bobkins

but that was a HUGE part of my childhood...
and in finding my OWN path, I have to maneuver around the Addie Playground a bit...
plus... it just brings me great joy!

I REMEMBER

There is more to my father than many people realize. 

He is mostly remembered for being "Addie Bobkins"... King of the Boo Boos,

with Puppets over his shoulder, and Kids cheering for Popeye Cartoons... 

strumming his 12-string guitar, singing Puff the Magic Dragon,

always accompanied by his loyal sidekick FEATHER, a beautiful, impeccably trained collie.   

Not many know he was Student Body President at Lewis and Clark College, 

majoring in Psychology and studying to be in the Ministry, 

or about his years in politics,  and on the School Board...

or his ability to give a 30-minute impromptu speech when the President was late... 

or about his years teaching motivational real estate seminars...

or of the children's books and poetry he has written.

When asked to describe himself, he would simply say 

"I'm a DRUMMER"

But my father was also a Veteran... in the Air Force during the Korean War
he served as Entertainment Director at McChord Air Force Base.

I'm sure he loved it, but sadly, he was embarrassed as well.  

When asked what he did in the service, he would avoid the answer.  

I'm not sure he ever reconciled with the fact that he actually SERVED his country...

that his talents were NEEDED - that he brought HAPPINESS to the troops! 

This Memorial Day

I am proud to introduce my father,

Robert Harold Adkins, United States Air Force

Thank you for instilling in me a love of my country...

and teaching to pray for whomever is in the White House...

Republican... Democrat... black... white or purple... 

I REMEMBER...

It Happened at the World's Fair

Another 50th anniversary:  The Seattle World's Fair!  Where will it be next?  New York... Chicago... Paris...Knoxville... New Orleans... San Francisco... London... Montreal... (Is it my imagination, or did the U.S. have an unfair advantage?)  When Seattle was announced, the whole Northwest went crazy!  TV commercials beckoned us to Pack up your troubles and head to the FAIR!  Dad didn't want to take us... he didn't do well with crowds - always surrounded by autograph mongers... but people weren't going to the World's Fair to see Addie Bobkins... they were going to see the Space Needle!!  America's version of the Eiffel Tower!  And the Monorail... and maybe, just maybe we could catch a glimpse of King Elvis just hanging out eating an ice cream cone between takes...

http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/elvis-in-seattle.html

 

Because dad was a disc jockey, I was the first on the block to croon Good Luck Charm - couldn't he pull some strings and get me a part on this movie?

Please Elvis, pick me!

http://www.elvis-history-blog.com/seattle-worlds-fair.html

Trailer for It Happened at the World's Fair!

Of course some people actually went to the futuristic exhibits to see what we now so casually call SKYPE!
But back then... sheesh... we didn't even have push button dialing yet.
I still remember my first phone number ALPINE 2-0694
and I even remember my grandmother's - she had the best - ATLANTIC 1-4646

Picturephone via Stumptown Blogger

We finally made it to the top of the Space Needle... nobody even recognized dad.
I think he was sad about that.

As we drive up the I-5 on our way to visit family up and down it's corridor,
the Space Needle stands proudly above the Seattle Skyline... 

One day on our travels to the north, we will stop at the Seattle Center... 

Unfortunately, along with Menopause came a lovely fear of heights,
so I will enjoy that Space Needle from the ground, thank you very much.
I wonder if the roller coaster is still there?  
Maybe we can catch a glimpse of Elvis... I could happen!

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo...

Happy 50th Birthday to the baby elephant we all grew to love... 

The Portland Zoo was already the coolest... but now we had a new baby boy!

At that point in time, he was the first elephant to be born in the Western hemisphere in 44 years!

The city went crazy with excitement!

Celebrating 50 Years of Oregon's Beloved Elephant

 Every kid had a Cool Zoo Key and we prided ourselves in knowing all the words to the jingle...

 Same jingle that other zoos used...

Baby Elephant Walk was Addie Bobkins' theme song, and he was invited to broadcast live from their zoo home!  He got a little too close to the new baby, and Mother Belle whacked him in the jaw - live on the air!  It clicked for the rest of his life... Wish I had a photo of that...

Everywhere, Packy was the topic of conversation.  This was a HUGE event in our lives... 

Wish I could be there for the party...
Something tells me it's all happening at the zoo!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY PACKY!

I don't know enough to comment on the plight of the elephants in zoos, but I have been assured that the Portland Elephant Family has been treated with kindness and positive reinforcement. 

Packy doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do.
That's good to know.

KISN RETURNS!

KISN Radio returns to the internet airwaves tonight!

Full of silly oldies... commercials... and old clips of classic DJ fun!  

Dad (Addie Bobkins) had a short but eventful stint with them from '62 - '64

From noon to 3:00 pm daily he KIS'D his fans before heading to KPTV for his live TV show...

KISN will be KISN your wife all over again!

Even listening to the test phase is giving me goose bumps!

 SUCH GREAT MEMORIES

KISN GOES LIVE TONIGHT AT 7:00 PM!

Thanks to Gino Rossi - we have some classic moments captured on film!

Addie and Feather in the KISN window

Feather is the fifth Beatle!

I have his box of 45's around here somewhere...

KISN SURVEYS

Here's to you dad... a great birthday present!

I know you are on my shoulder listening... laughing... and dancing

Enjoy the fun... I'll be cracking open the virtual champagne with you all!

Missing daddy...

I miss daddy every day.  I miss his daily emails with a long story, or a short "boogaloo!"  

This month, we think of him a little more.  

He died on February 2nd (2005) and was born on February 22 (1932).  

This photo was the last time we saw him, Thanksgiving 2004.  

It seems as if he knew something was wrong. 

 He was having pains that were attributed to "pulling a muscle at the chiropractor."  

The pains got worse.  When he got home to Oregon, on December 2nd the doctor announced, 

"Oops - I guess it isn't a pulled muscle after all.
You have Melanoma and it has spread to your bones.  Get your affairs in order." 

He was gone exactly two months later. 

My youngest daughter shares her birthday with him... 

we try not to focus on his death, but on his crazy, wonderful life, and the laughter he brought to us all!  

He was Addie Bobkins to everyone else, but my kids only knew him as "Grampa Bob."

We often wonder why things happen in our lives.  

Sometimes we get our answer sooner... sometimes later... sometimes never.  

This is one example of sooner!

Dad was desperate to come meet his first great-granddaughter, 

and that was the reason for the Thanksgiving visit!

I wondered why... and then I knew.

If she had not been born at that time, we may not have seen my father before he died.  

I will forever be grateful for the "grand plan" that brought Jocelyn into our lives...
at that perfect moment in time...