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| Father
of five girls, doctor, ham radio operator WA6GWM, world traveler,
pilot, photographer, and political activist for human rights. |
Harry
Loving grandfather and husband, artist, composer, inventor and storyteller.
He loved to spend time in his garden. He
valued people and was content with a simple life style. |
My
father was an orthopedic surgeon who believed in many homeopathic
remedies, surgery as a last resort and spending time with his patients.
He could be very stern as a father but he could also be very funny.
I became a night owl at a very young age, waiting for him to come
home from the hospital.
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My
grandfather was a tremendous influence in my life as a young artist.
He taught me how to paint, told the best bedtime stories and spent
lots of time with me showing me the beauty of nature.
I remember how he used to play piano and sing "Oh, Danny Boy."
Sometimes he would cry while he sang, his deep masculine voice cracking.
He also enjoyed reciting poetry. I envied his ability to remember
such lengthy verses of Tennyson.
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| He
was also a political activist, believing in the right to privacy
for his patients. He saw the results of back alley abortions and
families left destitute after illnesses. He often accepted payment
in jars of jam, hand made leather wallets or what ever his patients
could make to help pay for his work. |
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He played piano in the Big Bands in LA, invented a helicopter with
shocks for landing, and had his music stolen by a very famous company
as well as the shocks which were used in cars.
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He
thrived during emergencies and always had hair raising stories
about the hospital. When he worked in Santa Cruz, he fought for
a kidney machine and got frustrated when money was often used
for things like landscaping instead.
When he was in elementary school some of the children got together
and staked him out on the field behind the school house. They
piled debris on top of him and lit it on fire. This was because
his mother was from England. They called him a "cousin Jack."
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The helicopter my grandfather invented is pictured above. He
corresponded with Einstein on this project and the family still
has three letters written in German. |
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He
taught me about "hate crimes" as soon as I was able
to understand what it meant.
Diabetes
took a heavy toll on my father as a doctor. He had to give up
his pilots license. He moved our family to Santa Cruz for a slower
pace of life. Los Angeles was already getting smoggy in 1956.
Between the pollution and his need for more rest and less work,
he opted for a small town life style.
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Harry
was a dreamer and my father was worried I'd turn out like his
father, and I did. I may never make a lot of money but I've already
led a full life, rich with experience that has been the result
of my artistic endeavors.
My grandfather's influence is every where in my home. I even have
a spaceship hanging in my living room, complete with lights. It's
a sculpture I made from bicycle parts and various construction
and plumbing fixtures.
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Dad
was also a photographer and loved setting up scenes like this
one. I am so grateful to be able to have these photos, to hold
them in my hands. These will not go the way of computer programs
that no longer exist.
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Harry
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My
grandfather's father helped lay the Transatlantic cable. I believe
that's how my grandfather was able to travel back and forth to
England and bring back my grandmother.
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I
can't imagine life without my computer but I know I could make
it as long as I can create.
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Harry
had an entrepreneurial spirit. He was always interested in many
different things at the same time.
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