Our Uncle Mike AS Told By Our Uncle Tony : Thinking Of You Now Uncle Mike In These Very Trying Times Of Yours, Monday, May 13th, 2013 @ 2:10PM

This Uncle Tony now feels very much in the dark in plain daylight. It's hard, I am off and here at home and not at the hospital with Uncle Robert, Sis, Deborah, Mathew, Holly and the others. It's tough for me, but really tough for you. Deciding to pull the plug on all life-support systems is agonizing and so real, of-the-moment and crushing I would think. I have never had to do that so I can only imagine. Anyway, my thoughts as well as us other Quinns here on the East Coast are with you. We had no idea that things had gotten so bad over the last four days. ... ... ... ... It's finally sunny here in northern Virginia on my day off. I just took our daughter's cat Louie outside because Louie likes to be outside, and it was finally sunny and nice even though it's cold and breezy still. Feels, felt good to the both of us and I did not hear the last call from Uncle Robert and that's too bad. I have been thinking that this would have been the kind of weather that might be perfect for Uncle MIke to be on the water as he liked to use both his kayak and his canoe? Hard to say, the breeze might have been bad? I do not know? Anyway, the clearness and the brightness of the day would have been good for better visibility and the ability to maneuver better? Yes, that's right. ... ... /// ... I have always thought of Uncle Mike with one foot in the water and one foot in the canoe or the kayak, or perhaps one foot in the kayak or the canoe and one foot on land. I believe this to be true even today after all the magnificent times that he and his Arkansas teammates have competed for the honor and the glory of their team, of Little Rock, of Arkansas, of the United States. I do not have all the details, my memory is sketchy and selective at best. But I do have " the feeling ". the energy, the conviction, the emotion, and the job of " the stories " that Uncle Mike always uses/used when speaking of these precious times in his life that were as enriching and vital and important as they were hard and physically brutal and unkind/uncaring on his body. ///// ... ... ... ///// His soul may have been elevated to lofty realms but his physical body was also ravaged unmercifully with these endeavors of his and his teammates as they navigated the course and might and power and brutal thrust forward of the streams of water that carried them along these narrow, uneven, unsure, rocked and jagged and dipping and swirling and thunderous routes in rivers and waterways. Wow, it must have been something to watch and witness, it must have been even more something to have been witnessing the confines of either canoe or kayak rushing along, somewhat powerless to the even greater force and power of Nature?!? /// ... ... ... ... /// I feel very bad now as both my my wife and my two children , here with me on the East Coast are also hoping and praying for our Uncle Mike, that he will pull through as he often did as he canoed or kayaked. The not knowing is tough. The not being there is together. The not being able to do anything is the very toughest. The waiting is also very difficult, too. That's what we all are doing now : sending positive vibes to Uncle Mike, hoping he pulls through yet again. None of us want to give him up. None of us want to see him go. It's not easy, never is. No matter how many times you have to go through this, it never gets easier. /// /// " He's gone . well, I'm glad it was fast, well, so sad, so sad ... " my wife, home, just said to our niece. He led a good life, really, he would not have wanted to suffer. My wife's last conversation with Uncle Mike recently was really good. he sounded like his own self, complaining about the chores that were expected of him. ... ... /// " He's gone ". .... It's now 2:59PM. Bye Uncle Mike, we love you, always have , always will. Cheers. It's a good day for kayaking and canoeing, have a great ride .... TONY ... /// /// ... It's now 10:52PM as I get a chance to finish this for the night about Uncle Mike. My wife, daughter and I reminisced about you Uncle Mike over dinner earlier. That was nice. That was important. It was helpful : we needed being together, talking, expressing some of our emotions now. We shared some good stories about you. I am grateful to have had this opportunity because our hearts are all heavy with grief, sadness over your quick passing that was a blessing for you Uncle Mike. ... /// ... A little while ago my wife and I watched one of our favorite shows : " The Voice " on t.v. with the final twelve finalists. What a show it was : so much exceptional and raw talent : so many incredible voices and storytellers : just like you Uncle Mike, these young singers as " larger than life ". And the act that caught my attention the most was when the Swan Brothers sang their song, a tribute to George Jones with his song that he wrote and sang when alive. George has just recently passed away, too Uncle Mike. I do not remember the name of the song that the Swan Brothers sang so beautifully of his, but some of the lyrics in the song that spoke to me immediately were : " Who's going to fill their shoes ... the Okie from Miskogie ?!? ... ". I said just before they finished singing to my wife : this song's for Uncle Mike. ... /// ... The Swan Brothers were talking to both George and to you Uncle Mike, to us that all love you Uncle Mike, and to so many others, too. Thank you two Swan Brothers, you have sang the perfect song for me, Uncle Tony to remember you by Uncle Mike. You may not have been a singer like Johnny Cash that George was speaking about : but to us all that knew you Uncle Mike, with your great story-telling, who will fill your shoes and continue to delight us with such grand stories, big and small, a smile as broad as your whole face, a twinkle in your eyes as bright as the brightest of stars?!? Cheers to you Uncle Mike, you are already missed. It's been an honor knowing you. ... It's now Monday night at 11:15PM as I post this. I am happy to have had a chance to think of you Uncle Mike and to find some words to describe my feelings and you, too ... and to also gain some perspective and peace, too as your passing is sudden and you were way too young to have been taken from us. TONY

Anthony Quinn Celebrates The Life Of Stephen Daddario When Stephen's Family Visits Shortly After Stephen's Sad & Untimely Death : Cheers Stephen, Will & Susan : I Raise My Glass, I Toast You!

/// ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... It's been awhile since Stephen passed away and I still think about him each day and certaily each week when he does not pass by the store to say : " TONY! How's By You !?! " ... and we launch into our back-and-forth / ping-pong ball conversation that has the ball often on the table and with sometime it bouncing off and necessary for either Stephen or me to go off in search of it. A metaphor for our communication, our lives, our mutual respect for one another. One of us always brought the ball back and put it into play. We were in many ways a support system for one another, or at least that's how I am coming to see our many wonderful years of seeing each other regularly, starting when Stephen would come in with his mother and then, after she passed away, on his own. ... ... ... ... ( These pictures, some of them show Cleveland Park , our Northwest neighborhood that Stephen knew well and often walked to do his shopping. Cheers. ... ... ... ... I will post some at all times of the day, though I often would see Stephen as I would start my day, often after I arrived at work and was busy in the office typing and updating stories, links, our Facebook store page at : Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits, or working on displays and showing our wines off to full effect to better sell them. Stephen would stop and look and pick up bottles and often have questions for me about them. he was quite observant and curious. We discussed many , many bottles of wine at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 20008 tel : 202-363-4265 , anthony.quinn@clevelandparkwines.com . Feel free to contact me if Stephen was a friend and you would like to talk about him. ALSO : Feel free to write in in our COMMENT section below and stories, anecdotes, feelings, whatever you might be willing to share with us all that miss him dearly now. He passed away way to soon ... ... ... ... ... HtAIO4rj0tQ/UW6r1yhD4jI/AAAAAAAAth0/9OpgkDnQrjM/s320/P1440887.JPG" /> ... ... ... . ... ..... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... This is just my start with the photos, I will keep adding them and the text will follow. Hope you enjoy for the moment the stories these pictures tell on their own without words. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... /// ... /// ... /// Here are some of the colorized pictures that Stephen would send me like Grace Kelly to celebrate my birthday and Ann Sheridan, too : Enjoy! Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn Thursday, June 27th, 2013 @ 11:35PM. /// The above one is of Grace Kelly, and this one below is of Ann Sheridan. Stephen would always send me lots of Marilyn Monroe, but I liked these, too very much. Great colorizations by Stephen. Thanks Stephen! TONY /// I have to put here a colorized picture that Stephen sent me of Marilyn Monroe : what am I thinking?!? It will bot be complete without this! Cheers, TONY ///

Heard Yet Another Woman Say Yesterday : " What Do I / We Need Men For?! " : I Add Now : " I Never Hear Men Ask That Question In That Way Or Tone Or Manner, If At All

I have to say that hearing that statement made by women often these days : " What do we need men for? What are men good for? Why do we need men anyway ?! " - hearing any version of these is insulting and mean and makes me cringe and wonder why women can be so mean? .... ... I never hear men say anything like that and I am almost sixty years old now and have been alive awhile and have heard plenty in my years. I admit I do not like to hear mean things and gossip which so often turns into being self-serving more than anything. I often turn away, stop listening, even walk away sometimes. ... ... ... ... I took this picture in Cleveland Park Northwest, Washington D.C. during one of our recent snow storms and liked the image so have included it here. Cheers. ... ... I also heard some women discussing the development, intelligence and the maturity of girls versus boys and I have no problem with that as long as it is meant simply as a way of better helping each child, male or female to cope and advance and to better fit into his or her environment and make the most of it and his or her talents, strengths, promise as it is different for each child. I do not like comparisons between children or the two sexes, especially if is not impartial and meant in a positive way to a better understanding and an appreciation of the two sexes and how, in fact they are dependent upon the other and that the only thing that matters is to love and appreciate one another and not ultimately arrive at a stage when one says in exasperation, frustration and without really thinking what the effect of one's statement and words : " What do we/ I need men for ?" may have on the boys or men that are present at the time these words are uttered. ... ... ... ... As I said already , I have never heard men ask the question or questions of what do they need women for? That is not to say that there is never any " women bashing " by men. There is, and I am not pleased for it when there is. I am also not pleased with myself when I have spoken unkindly of the opposite sex. I love the opposite sex and respect them as equals. We each have something invaluable to bring to the table. We each need one another. We each cannot exist without one another. We each need to learn to love one another, be accepting, be supportive and be there for one another more : doing what we can for the other as often as possible because life is demanding and it's marvelous when I get home after a long day and am both happy to be going home and say to my wife how happy I am to be home and to be with her doing whatever it is ( doesn't really matter to me as long as I am with her ) together. ... .... Don't get me wrong : I am not a saint and know it and have plenty to apologize for and plenty to be thankful for ; things that I get from being around both sexes that helps me to curb the negative in me and focus on the positive. Cheers, Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn

Our Son Gets Into NYU;Finds Out 3/29/12 : Goes To NYU 3/30/12, Gets Home 3/31/12 : I'm Up @ 4:32Am Writing About It ALL : How Bizarre - Wonderful

I'm up at 4:39AM writing this now as our son gets back from his film class trip to NYU's film festival trip that left at 4:30AM yesterday ( Friday AM , 3/30/12 ) and he returned this morning on Saturday at 3:30AM and comes into our room where my wife and I are sound asleep and has to " share " all the ups and downs and excitement, notations, observations, comments and well-wishes and moments od clarity, inspiration, epiphanies, etcetera with us as we bleary-eyed tried valiantly to stay awake and wake-up as much as possible as to not miss a word and appropriately " hang on every word " and not miss anything that he was saying. It was a task! We were both up to it being seasoned pros with our son after so many years.

He had overall a great trip and loved many parts of it, some more than others and he " shared " ALL of this with us even though he was exhausted and the adrenalin was keeping him up, too as he talked, stream-of-consciousness from one " moment " to the next " moment ".

He told us how the lady in the NYU book store commented how he " shared " his " life's story " with her so readily then and there. He told us that i twas not his " life's story " but just his " story of the moment ". Anyone that knows him knows that he speaks the truth here!

It was great to hear him tell ALL about this trip and meeting someone that graduated last year and was already there and together they mapped out many of the same observations and concerns and this boy really put at ease some of the issues that were now , this moment on the top of our son's list of important things to consider about going to NYU. That's all really good and he found it so reassuring, too. For parents all this is great to hear even at 3:30-4:00AM. What better time after all to hear all of this : while we are fresh from a deep sleep? Oh yeah.

Anyway, we are all along with him on " his " Cloud 9 : as we share a bit vicariously with him we, too get a bit of our own/ our shared Cloud 9! This is all so fresh and exciting and wonderful and personal and " ours " and it is great to be a part of it ALL and to be able to hitch a ride, so-to-speak and ride along with him, way back and there for him when he needs us and chooses to address and consult and confide in us ( especially my wife ) as he blazes ahead at a roaring pace that in itself is a pretty amazing spectacle even if we, as proud parents do draw attention to this.

Cheers and hope you other parents out there are also enjoying similar adventures as you hear from all the various colleges and universities where your children have been accepted and are deciding where to go.

How neat is it that four hours after our son hears that he has been accepted that he goes to sleep to wake up a few hours later to get on a bus and go to be at the school that has accepted him ( and where he wants to go most ) and be able to see it once again and celebrate his , as his friend said earlier to him " dream come true "?!? Pretty cool we say!!!

Cheers, congratulations son, and bonsoir et " good night " as I head back upstairs now to try and go to sleep ( you are fast asleep in your bed now ) as I have to get up in 4-5 hours and get to work. We are so proud of you, really we are. Just like we were of our daughter, too when she got accepted to UVA a few years ago ( the school that was her first choice as well ).

Love you both, Mom and Dad

P.S. You took this picture of the fireworks above son. I love these pictures that you took years ago on Memorial Day Weekend at the Wolf Trap celebration. It's a fitting picture to include at such a moment. " Ours " shared now at this moment as a family with lots of caring family and friends, too.

The Bank Of America Main Office Building( MD ) In Think ? / To Nanda's Late 2011 : On The Road To Find Out! Lunch & Stories With My Wonderful Mother

I like this drive. I am going to do it again tomorrow to go see my mother and to celebrate her birthday that was just yesterday. I am glad that I called you briefly yesterday morning Mom to wish you Happy Birthday over the phone. That pleases me. You sounded great and it's always nice to hear your voice and at least one of your many stories. I'm glad that you share so many with me. They make me think and realize and sometimes remember something that is often enriching to me. Thanks for always sharing Mom.

Tomorrow is Monday, March 12th, 2012 and it's my day-off and I am thrilled for that as it promises to be as beautiful as it is today. I'm going upstairs to change and get more comfortable before heading back out to do some more cutting back of our bountiful ornamental grass in our back yard. It needs it : it grows with a wildfire vengeance, really it does.

This building here to the right which might be the Bank Of America building is one of my very favorite sights that I see each time that I drive up to see my mother. It's followed by the sight to my left of the American flag that I have included one picture of here. You can see more of those pictures and read that blog, too if you would like. I just posted here on this site as well. Something about this building simply speaks volumes to me.

I guess it may be the white thrip that cuts through the building at a diagonal like swiping a credit card through the machine to read the numbers : swift and slick and pretty efficient overall. I like thinking to myself how the building must look inside? I think that the strip also cuts through the building and then I realize that it's probably just cosmetic and on the outside of the building.

However, this idea of having the strip follow through inside of the building really does fascinate me and make me thing of then how all the spaces would be divided and how unique each and every space would be? That intrigues me, really it does. How would you play with those shapes and how would you make it work and be a success and not just weird and inefficient and a failure? Could it be done? Could it be a grand success? If so why doesn't someone insist upon doing it and making it a true work of art that is still functional, regardless of the cost as it then would become and attraction, an icon, a destination point?

I like thinking like this : this intrigues me and drags me in and starts to absorb my attention and I start to dream a bit, too.

As I said I am driving up to see my mother today and celebrate her birthday and so I will be leaving soon. I will take my camera with me and my Flip camera, too as I like to record these visits and some of her great stories that she tells me as she remembers them. I treasure those and am thrilled to have them Mom and look forward to recording many more with you. It's a treat and a pleasure and I will see you soon!

I will finish this blog later but post it as it is now as I like to have my blogs available even if they are only partially finished as often the pictures speak volumes all by themselves. Cheers at stay-tuned for more. Anthony ( TONY ) Quinn