IN MEMORY OF DAD

Hi Dad,

I just wanted to let you know that I am thinking of you today. I’ve decided not to make this a sappy letter and, instead, focus on the “happy”…hey, notice that rhymes? Well, what did you expect from a daughter who always sees the glass as not just full, but overflowing? Remember that I’m the kid who used to wear a hat that said “Life is a Bowlful of Cherries.” Well, even though I’m older, I’m still that kid :)

So, here goes:

I remember riding high on your shoulders at Christmastime when you would take us to Cobo Hall so that I could see everything over the crowds. It was such a magical time for me with all the lights. Do you remember when you took me to the TV station so I could meet Bozo the Clown and how I was so excited until, that is, I realized that he was, alas, just a regular man?

Do you remember the time that my friend Tracy and I tried to see how much toilet paper we could stuff down the toilet and we ended up flooding the basement? You were so cool not to lose your cool! (And, by the way, how did you end up calling me “Tracy Boo” to distinguish between us? I realize that for some reason, out of four kids, I was the only one not given a middle name, but “Boo?”) And I always thought I was lucky that I had a Dad who let me and my friends paint part of the basement underneath the stairs to use as a clubhouse. (Come to think of it, it was probably kind of sacrilegious collecting club dues in the envelopes provided by the church for donations :) ) And by the way, I don’t know how you did it but thanks again for getting me and my friend, Mar, front row (or was it third row?) seats to see the Monkees! I actually went to another one of their concerts as an adult and Davy is still my favorite!

We didn’t have the “over the top” birthday parties that seem so commonplace nowadays. Each of us four kids had to take turns each year having a party…so, if my memory serves me correctly, I think each of us got to have a birthday party once every 4 years? But every year on our birthday, you and Mom would take just the birthday kid out to a fancy restaurant. Once at the Golden Lion restaurant I was trying to break apart my roll that was so tough; I remember holding it under the table and pulling and pulling and then, unbelievably, watching it as it shot across the floor. I remember being mortified so this must have been when I was a teenager because if I was younger, I would have thought it was funny, and if I was older…well, I would have still thought it was funny :)

Edit: Only Sis just called and said that I was wrong about the birthday parties. She said that we had a choice of either a party or a present but she was too lazy to log in and make a comment...some things just never change! (Don't worry, she won't read this...she only reads cookbooks.)

Do you remember all those notes we used to leave for each other because you worked so many nights? One of my most vivid memories is having cherry cheesecake with you in the middle of the night. It was like having a party but with just the two of us…a secret from Mom and Bro #1, Only Sis, and Bro #2. It was a chance for me to be an “only child” and have all of your attention. You made such a special effort to give me that special time…to have you all to myself without clamoring for attention with my siblings.

And what I remember best about you from when I was an adult is how, despite the 3,000 miles that separated us physically, we actually became closer when I became a parent. I remember how you would call when Kristy was about 2 or 3 years old and I wouldn’t hear the phone for some reason and she would tell you that her Mommy and Daddy weren’t home and you would just have to talk to her. Do you remember how she called you “Grandpa Stickers” because you used to mail her stickers all the time? I remember you bought her so many Christmas presents when she was 3 and all she cared about was the popcorn packaging you used…you could have saved yourself a ton of money, Dad! You made such a special and huge effort to be a part of her life and I will never forget it.

I remember driving to Florida before you died (and, yes, you read that right…I am terrified of flying!) and someone at the hospital telling me that I shouldn’t bring a 6-year-old in there because of airborne germs and thinking, how could I not let my dad see his granddaughter who he had taken such pains to get to know via phone and mail? (Dad, you would have loved the internet.) And, guess what? She’s alive and well 17 years later!

Anyway, I said I wouldn’t make this a sappy letter and I’m kind of getting a little sad right now so I’m going to end it on this note:

Dad, always remember “ships on the seashore.” Note to readers, if there are any: it’s a private joke but, let’s put it this way, his producers didn’t find it too funny when they had to do “Take 50.” :)

REFLECTIONS ON THE PAST YEAR...

I just realized that in one month it will be 1st anniversary of PrittieHartPress and 17 years since my dad died. It’s been both a great year and a bad year and, being the “glass is overflowing” type of person I am, I’ll focus on the good stuff first. The best part of working with all of my dad’s pictures (which all of us kids truly hated having taken the older we became) is that now, at the age of 55, I am so grateful that he did take them. He preserved our family memories in a way that not many people have the capability of doing. I am just now realizing what a talented man he was and I so wish he was alive so that I could tell him.

I think he would be so pleased that his photo collection from the set of the 1957 movie "Band of Angels" with Clark Gable and Yvonne DeCarlo was just sold to the Warner Bros. Museum in Burbank, CA. It’s a huge 7000 square foot museum built in 1996 and they wanted the collection for posterity’s sake.

I also think my dad would be happy that one of his photos that he took of me when I was four years old is now on a greeting card that is presently being sold. I mean, how cool is that? A picture of me on the front and dad receives photographic credit on the back of the card. As a matter of fact, I just received my first royalty check today from Design Design, Inc. and it was “Prittie” (get it?) exciting.

O.K…now for the bad part of the last year. I put a ton of effort and time into marketing and, like I mentioned above, just received my first check. I feel like I have been a floundering fish because I just delved right into this without really knowing what I was doing. As a matter of fact, when the creative director at Design Design, Inc. called to say she was interested in licensing the image, I didn’t even know what she was talking about. She then said “Well, isn’t that why you were sending the images?” Duh…

Working with a small family-owned company for 33 years has not prepared me for dealing with huge corporations and the glacier-like pace in which they move. It reminds me of exactly why I went to work for a small company because I remember having to fill out a requisition form for pens at a huge corporation…and all I wanted to do was say “Give me a darn pen so I can do my work!” I have learned that you really have to “put yourself out there” and sometimes make yourself look like a fool. I am sure that some people I have sent proposals to wonder why in the heck I sent them a proposal. And I’ll tell you…it’s because of this:

Fun Busses

In 1977 when I moved out to California and didn’t have a car, I hopped on a bus to go to a job interview at that huge corporation. After quite awhile of riding around, I realized that I had inadvertently hopped on a “fun bus,” one of those busses that only takes you to Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm, etc., instead of a public transportation bus. After realizing this, I got off the bus and walked, and walked, and walked and ended up at a large corporation but not the one I was supposed to interview with. By that time I was so tired of walking that I just asked them if there were any openings…and here I am 33 years later still doing some work for the people that I met there at that large corporation.

So, to answer any questions about why I might have sent you a proposal, it goes way back to “fun busses”—you never know where something might lead you :)

ONCE A NERD...ALWAYS A NERD :)

This proves it…I am officially a product of the 1950’s. My almost 84-year-old mother recently corrected me on the pronunciation of Beyonce’s name. What’s really sad is that I’m not even really sure who she is …and what’s worse than that? I don’t even care :)

The same goes for the recent launch of the Ipad. I don’t have a clue as to what it is, what it does, how it works, or what it is and, once again, I really don’t care! It’s not that I am a total recluse by any means. I’m aware of the technology that is at our disposal and I think it’s great in so many ways but I also think we, as people, have lost a lot due to technology. I think we have lost the ability to truly communicate in a meaningful way. I see parents with their children and they’re on their cell phones and, therefore, they’re not really with their children. And what’s worse is when you see little kids on cell phones texting away. I think the parents are missing out on the opportunity to ask their kids what they’re thinking and never knowing what will come out of their mouths. (I used to do that with my daughter just for fun when she was around 4 or 5 and it was great listening to her.) Or driving the kids in the car and, instead of talking about random things happening in their lives, instead parents are talking on their cell phones and the kids are in the back seat on their cell phones. Heck, I’ve seen entire families walking along all on their cell phones.

The internet is truly fantastic and a great tool for research. However, aren’t we missing the actual feel of a book in our hands? I might have mentioned this in a previous post but I remember one summer when I was in 5th or 6th grade checking out every single biography out of our library (they were orange) and then pretending I was that person. I think that the internet can actually detract from our ability to be creative…especially for young children.

O.K., now with all that said…my daughter has a really neat cell phone that she can hold up to a radio and it will tell you the name of the song and the artist. Now that is cool :)

Are you wondering what this post has to do with my greeting cards? It doesn’t (except for in terms of communication). I should have probably titled this post “Apropos absolutely nothing.”

55 AND ALIVE...ISN'T THAT A ROAD SIGN?

Well, that’s me. I’ve come to a crossroads in my life and I’m ready for a change. Actually, that’s not quite true. I lost my job two years ago and it kind of forced me to change…which is both good and bad. The good part is that it forced me to think about what I’m going to next and the bad part is that all the jobs I apply to think that because I’m 55 (and despite the fact that I have been working full-time since I was 19 and spent 32 years at the same company) I am over-the-hill, I have nothing to contribute, and I’m not up-to-date on social marketing skills. I admit it…the latter part is true about social networking, even though I thought of a fantastic name for a Facebook fan page called “The Castaways” which would encompass all the people in my position :)

Due to the aforementioned facts, I have decided that I must (along with many other people my age) “reinvent” myself. In order to do this, I started with determining what I don’t want to do and here’s what I determined:

Don’ts

Buzz (I don’t even want to read about it to find out what it is.)
Twitter (I'm not creative enough and can barely follow telephone conversations let alone RT’s and comments with total strangers.)
Facebook (Did you ever hear of a telephone or writing a letter?)
LinkedIn (I have to admit that this is the “best” of the “worst” and I can actually see where it might lead somewhere.)

Blogging (I'll do it if I have to even though cyberspace is not my idea of communicating.)
Design a website.
Be stuck behind a computer all day long.

Do’s

Have a lemonade stand and sell my vintage greeting cards (Translation: NO social networking).
Develop a strategic partnership with another company that will allow me to achieve this goal.

In a Nutshell

My dad was a newscaster for WWJ TV and Radio when I was growing up in the Midwest during the 1950’s and 1960’s and photography was his hobby. A few months ago I was looking at our family photos, which consist of approximately 1,200 slides, and decided to start designing vintage photo greeting cards. My dad’s photos truly depict a pictorial essay of a typical 1950’s/1960’s childhood that captures an era in time. I am convinced that these photos should remain together as a collection. My father was a great photographer and the pictures tell the story and convey the essence of a typical midwest childhood during the 50's and 60's.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you're interested in developing a strategic partnership, you can view our social networking "lemonade stands" here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn7xVMuiUXc

and here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfCpWf9uFHk&feature=related

and here:

https://sites.google.com/site/prittiehartpress/ (includes our family history)

And then, if you want to develop a strategic business partnership, contact me at prittiehartpress@gmail.com or, better yet, (949) 310-0135 and we can actually talk...like in the Good Old Days :)

I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION...

that wholesome, clean, and All American is not considered "in" nowadays...and therein lies my problem. After viewing the semi-finalists of the Trendys Awards, where 30% of the winners consist of cards designed with humor that I find objectionable and in poor taste, I've decided that I truly am a dinosaur from another era. I find it hard and sad to believe that this is what America has become. When my daughter was little and my mother came to visit, I'm the mom who refused to let her mom watch anything on TV besides Sesame Street and the Shopping Channel because that's all I thought was appropriate:) I'm the mom who stood up with her reluctant (to say the least) 7 year old daughter and walked out of the Richie Rich movie because of the violence. And when I happened to meet the REAL Richie Rich (a super nice man) who came to my house in November to film a commercial, I told him that his name sounded familiar...and then remembered why and proceeded to tell him--probably not too cool :) I'm the mom who embarrassed her preteen daughter by asking the manager of our local grocery store to please remove a magazine with an objectionable cover to a different place on the rack where it wouldn't be visible to children. I'm the mom who wrote to a bathing suit manufacturer to complain about the provocative swimwear they were designing for preteens. When my barely teenage daughter wanted to watch Pretty Woman, I'm the mom who fast-forwarded through that movie (only showing the appropriate parts) so quickly it was the shortest movie my daughter had ever seen :) Yes, I was and am that mom. And now, my daughter tells me how sad it is that these young kids nowadays dress the way they do and how the movie ratings have changed to allow more sex and violence into PG 13 movies.

So, if you're wondering what that long diatribe means, it's just a reinforcement of the description of myself at the beginning of this blog...I am a nerd and a dinosaur :)

THANKS...

To Bro #2 for leaving such a nice post on my blog:

Tracey: follow your passion. The only career advice Dad gave me was "find something you enjoy doing and the money will follow". Unfortunately, I never took the advice. I will be 50 this year and you continue to inspire me to search out my passion. Bro #2

and to a new friend I made this past year who posted this on my Facebook wall:

"Dearest Tracey ~ YOU are a phenomenal Lady, a beautiful person, doing an extraordinary job, making things happen for those you love, and although you might not always feel it, you are loved and appreciated."

These two comments came at a time in my life when I really, really needed to hear something positive. They made me remember how sometimes just simple acts of kindness can go a long way toward helping someone feel better...so to all those people who make the world just a little bit better and brighter, thank you.

I ABSOLUTELY 100% REFUSE...

to Buzz! I like blogging; I see the point of LinkedIn; I tolerate Facebook; I tweet like a bird on Twitter and flutter around because I still don't know what I'm doing; but I categorically 100% refuse, refuse, REFUSE (and all related synonyms) to Buzz like a bee! There, is that clear enough? :)