Saturday, December 4, 2010

Ford Deluxe

"A L O H A !

click on the photos

We are all together in the canoe.
To move forward,
 we must work
together.









"A business that makes nothing but money
 is a poor business."
 Henry Ford 








"Whither goest thou, America,
 in thy shiny car in the night?"
Jack Kerouac







"Coming together is a beginning;
 keeping together is progress;
 working together is success."









"Don't find fault,
 find a remedy."


Henry Ford






"If there is any one secret of success,
 it lies in the ability
 to get the other person's point of view
 and see things
 from that person's angle
 as well as from your own."
Henry Ford 







If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability."
Henry Ford

><}}(°>
  

Been thinking about my dad.
He's been gone over a year now.

"Iron sharpens iron,
 and one person sharpens the wits of another."

Proverbs 27:17


He always seemed to be trying to 'teach me a lesson'
and I guess he did.
Intentional ones, but mostly unintentional lessons.

One day, he was driving Carl & I home from high school.
We passed through North Philadelphia
a tough, threadbare neighborhood.

As we passed a corner
Dad pointed out a derelict and asked:
"Friend of yours, Cloudia?"

Carl never forgot that.
It was clear evidence
of the divide
between my father
and
I.


Thinking on it the other day
I realized that my father
had defined me.
That story is part of my identity.

Yes, 
that is my friend.
Always.

But rather than seeing my Dad as an
adversary in this episode
as I always have
I realized that he helped me
to understand who I am.

Sometimes it was in
contrast to him-

-  but not always.

Thanks for the gift
of struggling together,
Dad.

You made me who I
Am.



"When you have brought up kids,
 there are memories
 you store directly in your tear ducts."

  Robert Brault

39 comments:

Full-On-Forward said...

"Iron sharpens iron,
and one person sharpens the wits of another."
Proverbs 27:17

I lost my Dad about a year ago too. We had conflicts, but in the end--He sharpened me and made me who I am today.

LOVE the post! You are special, Friend!

You must go into the FIRE and stand the heat to be forged into what Mr Ford is saying!

Beautiful Canoe analogy!

I will always pull (mynology) WITH you!

John

Ileana said...

Cloudia, thanks for sharing your soul, once again. Great post. I love that you appreciate the lessons your father taught you, painful or not, because they helped shape you into the person you are today...and I like the way you think, Chica! (I must get into the pages of your book soon!!!)

Happy Saturday, btw. :)

Marguerite said...

Love that canoe pic and the Ford quotes! Hope your weekend is fab! Aloha,cher!

KrippledWarrior said...

The man who fathered me, was never a "DAD" and the day he left my mom was the 3rd happiest of my youth. I spent so very much of my life, wasted, in the effort to HATE him, that it also defined me. Until I put it all away, and let it die. And when I found out that he had passed, a couple years ago, I felt nothing. Strange how reading this, dredged up long forgotten feeling of anger. But it was short lived. Enjoy your weekender.

Joop Zand said...

Great pictures with nice light and colors....
Greetings from the Netherlands.

Joop

Feisty Crone said...

I lost my Dad in 1999; we had our arguments over the years, over politics and other small matters. Beautifully said, Cloudia, and hugs to you.

Hilary said...

You're such a good example of seeing the positive in everything. Hugs to you.

Jannie Funster said...

Sorry your dad has passed on. It obvious your love and admiration for him.

I've toured the Ford-Edison estate. Didn't know Ford was so full of wisdom. Einstein was too, way cool men.

Enjoyed the post on Carl too. You have done a lot of interesting things so far in life, Cloudia.

And your writing is great, of course!

xoxo

Anonymous said...

The last quote is incredible. Always a safe road ahead for you. With dad 'away' for the last 30+ years, surely a felt entry. Please have you all a good Sunday.


daily athens

who said...

Ford was an astute business person and appeared to have decent set of personal principles.

Did you know Kingsford charcoal was a start-up he created when he became aware that some of the waste from his car plant wasn't be used to it's fullest potential for his days technology?

the first vehicle frames were assembled out of wood, upon seeing the amount of scrap and end pieces resulting from cutting to size pieces used to frame, the pieces were too small and irregular to be cut into parts again so as he saw it briquettes was the only logical next right thing to do.

(an then the rumor has it he would make some crazy sound not unlike Toni the Tiger: PRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RUMMMM PUMMM PUMM PUM)

Carol said...

That is unusual. Isn't it something how a comment like that can illuminate the differences between you. It is the same with my family. I can't get over how they think.

wenn said...

meaningful quotes fr Henry Ford!

Windsmoke. said...

That's a classic Ford car if i've ever seen one and yes i'm a Ford man have been all my life. The Henry Ford quotes are fantastic and true in a lot of cases. My dad passed away in June 1976 and mum in September 2010 so i know how you feel.

Anonymous said...

Fabulous car shots!

Anonymous said...

nice post.

黄清华 Wong Ching Wah said...

Beautiful day ...
Have a nice Sunday...

bichonpawz said...

Henry Ford was a very smart man!! Love this set of pics!! And I love the canoe! Have a great Sunday!!

Daliana Pacuraru said...

Again, I came here to take some energy and positive feelings from You!
Thank you, Cloudia!
I wish you a great week!
Aloha!

Kay said...

This was very painful, but I see the value of what you've learned. You are such a caring, sincere and spiritual person. My mother always told me that pain strengthens us. I guess so.

the walking man said...

Love the tale about you and your father and your conclusions.


But Sista' you really need to know more about Ol' Henry the Ford. I honestly can think of few men who were more diametrically different than you and your Aloha attitude. The man was a raving anti-Semite and an early supporter of Hitler, along with Joe Kennedy and Charles Lindbergh.

He is directly responsible for Detroit to this day not having a workable mass transit system/light rail for the everyman. Henry was not cool kiddo. He was an authoritarian dictator who was ego-maniacal, which I personally believe lead to the early stress related death of his only kid Edsel.

Myrna R. said...

Our adversaries can be our best teachers, especially if they are loved ones. Nice sharing.

Reanaclaire said...

thanks to Ford ..we have nice cars to drive today...

Trotter said...

Aloha Cloudia! Great post! Yes, always a friend...

Blogtrotter Two is in the Valley of Kings waiting for you!! No photos allowed inside the tombs, sorry… Enjoy and have a great week!

Charles Gramlich said...

Nicely said, and I love that car. Especially the color.

Short Poems said...

Great pictures!

Cloudia said...

Thanks for each of these heartfelt comments.

Walking Man is right (as usual).

Using Henry's quotes did arouse lots of interesting inner conflict because I wanted to quote him - but DO know what an anti-semite prick he was - and yes - responsible from social problems we have today. But also for the Ford Foundation that does lots of good things...

Unknown said...

Happy Sunday from Massachusetts!

Out on the prairie said...

I need that canoe to try.I like your friends, I hope you share with them as I like to.Classy car and great qouotes.

SandyCarlson said...

Anniversaries can be tough. Thanks for sharing tis incredible tribute to your dad. The Henry Ford quotes and the auto images are perfect with it.

Cloudia said...

Jolly to see YOU!

magiceye said...

that was beautiful
loved Robert Brault's quote at the end

namaste /\ from mumbai
aloha!

Pietro Brosio said...

Hi Cloudia! That car with the white tires is so beautiful, I like the Ford quotes too, nice post!
Congratulations, I see in your comment you write Italian really well :-)

Commander Zaius said...

"A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business." Henry Ford



That Henry Ford seems like a smart man, too bad he would not fit in well with a lot of right-wingers

Leovi said...

Incredible pictures of this gorgeous car, I like the framing and you get those pretty reflections. The great quotes from Ford. Greetings from La Mancha.

the walking man said...

Got to keep the record straight Henry had nothing to do with The Ford Foundation.

Edsel & his wife Clara did all of the charitable/philanthropic Fords were known for in Detroit. But even they don't do so much anymore since they became a world empire corporation. I get the impression that Henry thought Edsel weak and effeminate by his rigorous standards and Edsel spent his entire life trying to win his fathers approval which he could never do. It took ol Hank the Deuce to put Henry out to pasture during WWII.

Read Ford: The Man and the Machine.

The Ford Foundation was chartered on January 15, 1936 in Michigan by Edsel Ford and two Ford Motor Company executives "to receive and administer funds for scientific, educational and charitable purposes, all for the public welfare".[3] During its early years, the foundation operated in Michigan under the leadership of Ford family members and their associates, and supported such organizations as the Henry Ford Hospital, Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum, among others.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing your story with us. The Ford quotes are great. That's stuff my Dad would say, being from Michigan. Have a great week!

Anonymous said...

x

Jenn Jilks said...

Comforting words, Cloudia!
They are all lessons, are they not?!
And heart warming photos with quotes. We had ankle deep snow last night. Lovely seeing your sun and warmth.

Betty Manousos said...

Great car photos!
I'm feeling tempting to visit Hawaii again.
I wish I could do that.

ALOHA!!!!!!!!!
xx