Casey Blog http://blog.casey.com Most recent posts at Casey Blog posterous.com Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:40:00 -0800 Purple Daughters http://blog.casey.com/purple-daughters http://blog.casey.com/purple-daughters

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Not satisfied with the natural hair color provided by their parent's boring old gene pool, the Casey girls decided to jazz things up a bit.  Their parent's hair color is also changing, almost as quickly, but naturally.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Wed, 01 Dec 2010 04:09:16 -0800 A Boy and His Lion http://blog.casey.com/2010/11/the-story-of-lion.html http://blog.casey.com/2010/11/the-story-of-lion.html
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Christmas 1993, Huntington Beach, California. Will Casey is three weeks past turning one year old and celebrating Christmas at his Nana & Papa's house. It's Will's second Christmas, but his first with awareness. Too young to know or care about Santa or Baby Jesus, Will knows only that there are lots of new toys being opened and they seemed to be for him. The toys stacked taller than he was, and from the safety of his mother's lap, Will took it all in. He really wasn't feeling very well on this trip, but toys are great medicine. Among his sister's gifts, was a Lion puppet. It had plastic brown eyes, soft fur, and a huge bushy mane.
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Will had to touch that mane, and he did.
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From that moment on, 'Lion' belonged to Will. They were together always. By the next Christmas, Lion event came along with Will and Katie when they visited Santa,
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and when he joined his family for a White House family Christmas photo.
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And when he wasn't traveling with Will on such exciting days as the first day of pre-school,
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Lion and Will could most frequently be found napping together, like they are here with Will's Aunt Jill.
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Luckily for Will, his kind and generous older sister never begrudged him for taking her gift. She understood that Lion and Will were friends.
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There were others. Others who tried to compete for Will's attention, and he was willing to give them a try. There was Abu,
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and bunny.
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There was Mickey,
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and Pooh.
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There was even eventually a baby sister, but pulling her hair just wasn't the same.
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None of them lasted (well, the sister did), and no one knows where they are now. Lion was always there.
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And he still is today. A bit worn after 17 years (his tail fell off years ago, but it's safely stored inside his puppet head), but still Will's Lion.
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The End.
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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:24:45 -0700 Long Running Family Art Exhibit Closes http://blog.casey.com/2009/09/long-running-family-art-exhibit-closes.html http://blog.casey.com/2009/09/long-running-family-art-exhibit-closes.html
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A exhibit of artworks by Colleen Casey on the back of the basement door in the Casey family kitchen came to an end today. The exhibit consisted primarily of works from her pre-school and kindergarten period, some of which are believed to date back to 2000 or earlier. When asked if she was surprised at the record-setting length of her exhibition, Colleen made it clear that she was not. "It's because you love me best", she stated confidently. Of course we do dear. But the lack of competition from any younger sibling artists should also be noted.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 21 Dec 2008 22:43:25 -0800 Digital Christmas Past http://blog.casey.com/2008/12/digital-christmas-past.html http://blog.casey.com/2008/12/digital-christmas-past.html

In the classic 1989 movie, Christmas Vacation, there is a touching scene where Clark Griswold spends an afternoon locked in his attic. He bundles up in some old clothes, discovers some old hidden Christmas presents, and get misty with nostalgia watching old holiday movies.

I've recently moved my online abode from one web host to another. The task involved taking some time to backup and transfer files from one to the other, and that brought about some fun discoveries in a digital analogy to Clark's experience in his attic.

Way back in the year 2000, we took our annual family Christmas letter digital. No longer would we stuff, lick, label and stamp envelopes as we had for years. In the new millennium, our holiday wishes could travel the digital tubes of the net (Yes, there are some offliners to whom we will always have to send a hard copy letter, but they miss out on all the fun links).

Typically, in addition to sending our Christmas letter by email, I also post it to the web for easy sharing with afterthoughts or others who missed out on the email. For that first letter in 2000, we produced the below video (and made it available in high and low bandwidth versions in Quicktime AND RealPlayer!). And for any who care to dig deep into the Casey Family digital Christmas Letter archive, I say, "Get a life, and enjoy!" Here they are: 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Stay tuned for this year's letter coming soon!


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Mon, 01 Sep 2008 21:51:54 -0700 Meet Wrigley http://blog.casey.com/2008/09/meet-wrigley.html http://blog.casey.com/2008/09/meet-wrigley.html
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We've got a new member in our family! Wrigley is a boy, about three months old and 10 pounds. He's a beagle mix, just rescued from a West Virginia Animal Shelter last week. He's had an exciting day; long drive to new home, bath, new collar, outside to meet the neighbors, and now taking a well-deserved snooze on the family room floor.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 25 May 2008 22:23:00 -0700 Marion Dedera Casey (1913/Chicago, IL - 2008/Newport Beach, CA) http://blog.casey.com/2008/05/marion-dedera-c.html http://blog.casey.com/2008/05/marion-dedera-c.html

casey_gram.jpgToday is my grandmother's birthday. She would have been 95 years old, but sadly did not reach that milestone having passed away two months ago. She was the oldest of five children of Victor and Rose Dedera, and is survived by her sister Jean, her son William, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Twice married to John Casey (and twice divorced), Grandma Casey lived a very independent life, raising my father as a single working mother during a time when that was nowhere near a common as it is today.

In recent years my interest in genealogy led to many wonderful hours visiting with 'Gram', looking at old family photos, and appreciating her is a way that could only come in adulthood. She laughed when sharing photos of her and friends at the beach, and was proud to show off memorabilia from her career at Amphenol which included company Christmas cards on which hers was the only female presence among the crowd of male executives. Late last year my brother discovered another interesting tale from Grandma's working past. As a young woman she worked for the Mars candy company in it's early days. She was one of the staff who was flown out to attend the founder Franklin Mars's funeral in Tennessee in 1934. When I asked her when she stopped working for Mars, she responded, "When I got married. They told me there were plenty of young single women who would be happy to take my job, and that a married woman had no place in the workplace." She said this with no bitterness or resentment, just acceptance that it was how things were. Another good story was finding out that she did not learn to drive a car until my teenage father was also just learning.

Gram was an active letter-writer who was always caring and curious about the lives of others. A postcard from 1988, when I had been married and lived in Virginia for less than a year is typical...

Good morning - It's Fri. 3/25 - 10am and would you believe 88 degrees already - we're having a heate wave - anyone for a nice cold dip? - I'm ready for work and looking forward to the week end as I'm sure you are - what do you do week-ends? - where do ya go? - what do ya see? - For me, Sat is a clean house, food shop day and Sunday a day of rest, with the O.C. Register spread all over the d.r. table or maybe a matinee movie. Luv ya, Gram C

I would like to send Gram a similar postcard now. Where do ya go and what do ya see? And I'd like to wish her a very Happy Birthday, and let her know she is missed.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Mon, 03 Dec 2007 19:22:00 -0800 Happy Birthday Will! http://blog.casey.com/2007/12/happy-birthday.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/12/happy-birthday.html

It's a Boy! 12/3/1992Fifteen years ago, December 3, 1992, I went to work, and so did my wife Jennifer. We didn't know yet that you'd be born that afternoon, but your mom called me at work from the Doctor's office and said, "Meet me at the hospital, the doctor says' this baby is coming now!". And later that afternoon, you arrived. Katie McGrath won my office's baby pool to guess your arrival date.

Anyway, that was 15 years ago. You and I both weigh more than we did in this photo. And your hair is much longer than it was then. But I still have the sweater, wore it just last week. Maybe I'll give it to you on your 16th birthday!

Happy Birthday Will! We're very proud of you, and love you very much.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Tue, 18 Sep 2007 06:23:04 -0700 Happy Birthday Colleen! http://blog.casey.com/2007/09/happy-birthday.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/09/happy-birthday.html

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You're already in bed after your first day as an 11-year old. But while there's still some minutes left of your birthday, I thought I'd tell you here in my blog how much we love you and are proud of you. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of you, is fun. You are a fun person to be around. You like to play games (are a wicked backgammon player), and you are also very funny (not looking, I mean humorous :-) You're very curious (yes, like the monkey) - always wanting to learn new things, adventurous (yes, like a pirate) - always eager to try new things. And you are also friendly, kind, and quite a looker too!

Happy Birthday, Colleen! We're very excited about being with you all of your 11th year.

BTW, the CUBS won tonight!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Fri, 07 Sep 2007 06:01:55 -0700 Back to School http://blog.casey.com/2007/09/back-to-school.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/09/back-to-school.html

Ah, where does the summer go? Ours was full and fun, but now September is here once again, and this week was time for heading Back-to-School.

We've now left elementary school behind, as Colleen enters middle school as a 6th grader, and Will is now our second child in high school. For the last twelve years we've had one or more kids attending Henderson Elementary School, and I'd like to say thanks for the great job they did for each of them.

This morning, Colleen and I walked to our respective bus stops together. My pickup is just across the street from hers, and just a few minutes earlier. It was kind of strange, standing across the street waving at each other. Her to catch a school bus to take her five miles to school, and me to catch a commuter bus to take me 30 miles to work.

Tonight I rushed home from work to make it to Back-to-School night at my daughter Katie's high school. The parents there followed their children's schedule from class to class, spending 10 minutes in each for a quick introduction and overview from the teachers. I have to confess, it made me glad that high school is far behind me. She will have a heavy workload in classes that I hope will engage as well as challenge her.

If we continued counting years as grades in our ongoing education of life, then this fall I'm a 37th grader. I'm not done learning, but the degrees I work for now come bi-weekly and have dollar signs on them.

Oh yeah, and looking back at last year, we can't forget what else going back-to-school brings next.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sat, 16 Jun 2007 04:36:51 -0700 Spiffy Hair http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/spiffy-hair.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/spiffy-hair.html
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There was something different about Katie when I got home from work today, but somehow I just can't quite put my finger on it. Must be the necklace.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:47:14 -0700 5th Grade Grad http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/5th-grade-grad.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/5th-grade-grad.html
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Colleen made the leap out of Elementary School today, advancing out of the 5th grade. She is our last to complete her Elementary years at Henderson, the school that is literally next door to us. We've been very lucky to have our kids start their educations at such a great school. Colleen was recognized with two awards; an Academic Award for earning a straight - A average in her whole 5th grade year, and the Principal's Award for having the highest grade average in her class.

Congratulations Colleen! We are very proud of you.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:19:00 -0700 A Casey Playwright http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/a-casey-playrig.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/06/a-casey-playrig.html

A few months back, Katie had a school assignment that required her to submit a stage play to the Student 10-Minute Play Competition sponsored by the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Katie has described her entry as 'cobbled together' from a couple of other pieces, and edited down to meet the time requirement. Her entry, Dream a Dream, was one of ten honorable mentions selected in the High School category from among a total of 595 entries.

Each of the honorable mention plays was performed in a reading by Arena Stage actors. I was there with the family video camera, and have finally got it online. So now, for the first time online...

Dream a Dream, by Katie Casey

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 13 May 2007 19:19:19 -0700 Happy Mother's Day! http://blog.casey.com/2007/05/happy-mothers-d.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/05/happy-mothers-d.html
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My dad recently shared this photo from a slide he digitized. From the age of my sister and our clothes I'd guess it's from the spring of 1973. From Left to right are my brothers Sean, Kevin, myself, Jennifer, and our wonderful and loving mother. Happy Mother's Day Mom! You're the best, and we love you.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:21:40 -0700 Video Flashback - Pinewood Derby http://blog.casey.com/2007/03/video-flashback.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/03/video-flashback.html Here's a flashback from the Casey video archives, the 2002 Pinewood Derby. Over the years I've participated in a half-dozen or so of these scouting events. Some kids show up each year with finely crafted hot-rods that their fathers have obviously put many hours of work into. I'm not that Dad. Even if I put many hours into it, I'm just not a woodworking type. And so typically, a night or two before the race, when the the task couldn't be put off any longer, my son Will and I would hack our pine block into some kind of shape, get some paint on it, glue on the wheels and some weights and hope for the best. But in 2002 we found some inspiration by decorating Will's entry with a sponsorship from my company, casey.com, and maybe that was what was needed (or maybe it was the well placed bolts in the passenger seat), because our close fourth place finish was our best ever in a Pinewood Derby, and only Ludwig Von could capture the feeling. Please excuse the herky-jerky camera work, the adrenaline was flowing strong and I just couldn't keep still.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Tue, 02 Jan 2007 06:05:50 -0800 Last Tooth of 2006 http://blog.casey.com/2007/01/last-tooth-of-2.html http://blog.casey.com/2007/01/last-tooth-of-2.html
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Colleen did not want to start 2007 with the unfinished business of any lose teeth, and with help from her Dad, this one was yanked before the clock struck midnight.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 03 Dec 2006 17:27:21 -0800 Happy Birthday Will! http://blog.casey.com/2006/12/happy-birthday.html http://blog.casey.com/2006/12/happy-birthday.html
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Fourteen years old... when did that happen?! Well, we're doing something right son, because you are growing into a fine young man. You make us proud, and we love you.

Happy Birthday to You!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sun, 26 Nov 2006 18:51:36 -0800 Screaming Delivery http://blog.casey.com/2006/11/screaming-deliv.html http://blog.casey.com/2006/11/screaming-deliv.html Here's a flashback from the home video collection. It's September 28, 1990, and we are a young couple in the hospital, awaiting the arrival of our first child, and using our new video camera to record the event. We had already been at the hospital since early morning by the time this clip was taken, and our daughter would not arrive until the very early morning of the next day. But it was a different story in the room next door.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Sat, 30 Sep 2006 06:11:19 -0700 Sweet Sixteen http://blog.casey.com/2006/09/sweet-sixteen.html http://blog.casey.com/2006/09/sweet-sixteen.html
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Happy Birthday Katie!

We love you!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:09:40 -0700 10 Year Old http://blog.casey.com/2006/09/10-year-old.html http://blog.casey.com/2006/09/10-year-old.html
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My youngest reached double-digits today. Yes, my baby girl is 10, holy smokes! We hosted a pirate-themed sleepover with 11 of her gal pals last night, and the walls are still echoing from the fest. A grand time was had by all.

Happy Birthday Baby! (yes, I'll call you 'Baby' no matter how old you are).

I love you.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey Wed, 07 Dec 2005 04:48:00 -0800 St. Nicholas Snow Day http://blog.casey.com/2005/12/st-nicholas-sno.html http://blog.casey.com/2005/12/st-nicholas-sno.html

st_nick.jpgAs a kid, there were a few holiday traditions brought over from the old world family roots in Bohemia. Some were food related, like the braided Hoska bread, or the Kolacky pastries. But the other meant gifts, and that's why I enjoyed the fact that we celebrated St. Nicholas day in our house.

St. Nicholas of Myra lived in the 4th Century in what is today the country of Turkey. According to Wikipedia, he was known for secret gift giving and "is revered by many as the patron saint of seamen, merchants, archers, children, prostitutes, pharmacists, lawyers, pawnbrokers, prisoners, the city of Amsterdam and of Russia." Happily, as a child, I fell into the child category and so was glad to celebrate his feast day on December 6th.

Although I'm not sure we really celebrated it as they did in the the Czech Republic. To me, celebrating St. Nicholas day meant an early visit by the historical predecessor to the coming visit by Santa which followed three weeks later. We'd get some toys and some candy (always a Lifesavers Sweet Storybook). That's all that mattered.

St. Nicholas was known to travel with some less appealing companions. Good children would receive gifts from St. Nicholas, while bad once received beatings. My mother recalls that her Grandfather would dress as Black Pete to scare his siblings and later his children. Presumably they were beaten.

Yesterday we had enough snow that today the schools were closed and my wife and kids enjoyed a bonus day off. There was candy and gifts in their shoes (thanks folks), as there had been in mine. And while, like me, they know little more about the day than I did, I'm glad to carry on the tradition. Maybe this year I'll try and make a Hoska. Next year, I'll be Black Pete.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/946556/casey_chris_lefty_hat.jpg http://posterous.com/users/1kALd6N7WvcZ Chris Casey chriscasey Chris Casey