Uncle Donald had his birthday on March 18th. I'm a little late. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell about this fabulous, funny and talented uncle of mine. Here are a few memories (a lot of them resulted in me crying--haha.) :
- Donald is a teaser. When my grandparents lived at the Arcadia House in Newhall, Donald used to hold me by the ankles and dip my hair into the pool.
- Donald is a player. Whenever he chased me it was terrifying! Not only was he chasing you, but he'd make this rapid clapping noise by slapping his legs. It made my heart race every time. ha.
- Donald is a tickler. Everything we did usually ended in tickling. But it hurt! His tickling was more like torture. It tickled at the time, but afterward it felt like we were covered in bruises. (Donald is not sympathetic to those excuses :)
- Donald is fun!!! Whatever we do, if Donald is involved, it's a great time. From camping to talking to going on shoots with him to anything. He is a blast! He always took the time to play with us. He was cool! I used to get so excited when Donald would make a tape for me of music he liked. (tapes! haha)
- Donald is care-free and adventurous. I remember driving to Santa Barbara with him. He drove with one hand on the wheel and one leg out the window. haha. He took us hiking to Vasquez Rocks for a shoot, and I thought he was going to drive the car up the rocks. (He joked about it, it was probably impossible, but I was still terrified he'd do it.)
- Donald tries to break you out of your shell. Growing up, that was a bad thing for me. In Hawaii, he tried to get me to dive down and touch some eels while we were snorkeling. He also tried to get me to bicycle down a volcano with him or go bungee jumping or climb a tree or ski a black diamond. Everything he did, to me, seemed dangerous. Now that I'm older, I WANT to do those things (except the black diamond). His vivacity for life is infectious and I'm so thankful for him!
- Donald is loving. Donald puts others' safety first. Two memories. One: Donald was skateboarding at the Arcadia House in the backyard. He was holding Lina (she was little--maybe two) swerving and playing with her. Suddenly, he hit a pebble and was launched off the board. As he fell he twisted in the air so his back would hit the ground and held up Lina as high as he could so she wouldn't get hurt. It was so fast, and so simple an example, but so heroic. That memory is burned in my mind. Donald loves us! Two: We were at Hawaii. (I think I was his shadow that whole trip). Heather, Donald and I had driven through the lava rocks and found a pretty secluded beach. Donald and I played in the water while Heather tanned :). Now the waves in Hawaii are awesome for boogie boarding and surfing and everything. Except when they are MONSTROUS, not just big, terrifyingly monstrous. So we were playing, having fun, when Donald starts yelling, "RUN!" An enormously enormous, fast wave was coming after us. Donald dragged me through the sand and retracting current, we didn't make it. We got rocked. Hard. I remember being tossed and turned in every direction by the ocean, all the while scraping against sand, and tiny pebbles that cut like razor blades. The wave retreated giving Donald just enough time to scoop me up and launch me forward before the wave retaliated and rocked us a second time. He got hit harder because he was farther back. He sacrificed himself for my safety. What a hero! When we scrambled onto the beach we were like tattered and exhausted pirates collapsing onto the warm sand. haha. What an experience.
- Donald is hard-working and so talented. His work is amazing and so well published. He is constantly traveling around the world working for his family. I wish I could fill my apartment with his prints and photos! He captures the most remarkable people, situations and places. Thank you Donald for chronicling our families' lives with pictures.
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