17 November 2004
One year ago today, at 4:04am my dad lost his fight with cancer. The fractal above is my tribute to and remembrance of my father. My dad was a marine, which explains why I choose a military theme. In the fighter pilot lexicon to "check-six" is to look behind for approaching bogeys. In this image the pilot has no chance against the two enemy fighters on his tail. I yelled check-six to my father many times. He never heard until it was too late. Dad, if you are reading this, I love you.
66 comments:
oh God Trée, its wonderful, I can't even think right now, there are so many emotions running through me....if your dad was anything like my stepdad ( a marine and a pilot) he would love this. It is an unbelievably fitting tribute.
(((((((((((((Trée)))))))))))))
Beautiful tribute to your father,mine was a veteran as well,and taught me the meaning of "keeping six"long before I ever heard it used again,in prison,where it means of course to watch out for the bulls.Funny how a beautiful thing gets twisted
Thanks Trace. I imagined he was looking over my shoulder as I created this one. I thought I might have seen him smile once or twice too.
I thought I might have seen him smile once or twice too.
I'm sure he did, you are amazing sweetheart, you did good, you did very good!
Thanks free at last. I appreciate the kind words.
Trace, do you ever sleep? lol
I do appreciate your sweet words dear. :-)
yeah about every 3 or 4 days, I've asked santa for a nap for chrismtas :0)
Trée, its absolutely stunning!
From what you've said here, he'd absolutely love it for sure.
x
Thanks Sunshine. Do I get a hug? :-)
How bout a hoochie coochie hug. :-D
You are always more than welcome to my hugs, you know that :-)
A hoochie coochie hug? Don't even know what that is, but sounds like fun!
HUG
Hello, Tree,
How beautiful it is. I thought it was a photograph at first. I honor your father with my thoughts tonight.
Liz
Trée, I'm off to try and sleep a bit, hope you rest well tonite darlin.
A, a hoochie coochie hug takes a lot of practice. Hope you got some time set aside. lol
Oh, and don't just let anyone fool you into thinking they know how to hoochie coochie hug either. Always ask for references. :-D
Hi Liz. I worked hard to get that look from a fractal. The short version is I inverted the image in photoshop to remove the black background. Then I eliminated a lot of the static, blurred and blended the image to give it a painterly sort of look and then placed it on a canvas backdrop and used a graduated tint to add a little blue for the sky. Thanks for stopping in and thanks as always for your very kind words.
:-)
Thanks Trace. Sleep well dear and thanks for staying up late. Love ya, mean it. :-)
:o)
Leaving you that (hug) for when you wake,
oh, and one of these too
:-)
Trée you are a master. I believe your father's spirit moved through you with this incredible creation.
When I looked I thought, "This cannot be a fractal."
I read all you did to render it. All I can say is that you are a true artist.
I hope today's rememberance of your father brings joy to you. He raised a good boy. He must have been a great Dad.
Good morning Trée, I hope you rested well and have a day full of good memories, peace, laughter and love.
I'm off to class, see you later :0)
Trée, the emotions you draw out from me as I view your tribute are too mixed up to describe. Sorrow, fear, horror, but also love, bravery, strength and deep caring. Thank you for sharing your personal experience with us.
What a wonderful tribute to your dad. He would be happy I think (who wouldn't?)
As for the fractal, wow, I don't know how you do it. The last two days worth have been terrific (it takes me all day just to do one I like). When I first saw this one I actually thought it was a photograph of airplanes, it wasn't till I read your text that I discovered it wasn't, thats how good it was.
I'm sorry for your loss Trée! He sounds like a great man and he raised a great son. I'm sure he's reading this and is proud of you. *HUGS*
Here's to your dad, Tree...
i'm sure he would very much appreciate your love and your beautiful tribute to him....for all we know, perhaps he never needed to look behind, because he was living in the moment...
It is amazing how precis you can be with these fractals. It seems just like painting.
Wow Tree. I read this with a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I'm sorry for your loss, but your father must be so proud wherever he is today for the damn fine son and wonderful person that you are.
Hi soulshine, you've received some really nice messages here.
Speak to you soon. Hugs.
:-)
Aggie, you are a doll. Wouldn't it be great to be in the same room working on a fractal together. You could show me what you do and I likewise. I've never had so much fun creating stuff in my life. And the comments so many leave are so uplifting and positive and encouraging I'm running out of ways to say thanks and show my appreciation. Hugs and kisses darlin'. :-)
Trace, got a little less sleep than normal last nite but otherwise I'm doing well. Thanks for asking and have a great day sweetie. :-)
Terry, I enjoyed being able to share the last four images with you guys. The four tell a story of sorts. The first image was the pain of death and regret and loss as represented by bullet holes in glass; the second was love and reconciliation in the form of tossing petals in the sacred waters outside of church; the third was the complete questioning of all belief systems of life and death that sets in after the reality hits you that they are gone and they ain't coming back; and the fourth was just a way to touch and embrace the pain of loss and at the same time produce something I think my dad would have displayed on his wall and showed to his friends with a sense of pride that his son created this for him.
Thanks for stopping by and hanging out for a bit. Always nice to see you around, with or without your boots. :-)
Jack, if you know anything about photoshop I could show you how to do this in about 10 minutes. The real trick is playing with all the settings until you stumble upon something that works. I like to use layers, strip the color from the top layer, and then "find the edges." From there, the fun begins.
As always, I do appreciate your wonderful words of praise. I find it one dish that never grows cold. :-)
Thanks Karen. I still have my mom so not all is lost. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a few encouraging words. Likewise, I hope you are doing well. :-)
Good to see you again Lisa. I know you have just recently dealt with your own lost with your friend Brian. My heart goes out to you too my friend. Take care and don't be a stranger. :-)
Beard, took a good bit of post fractal photoshop work to get the original fractal to look this way. I wanted to do something that looked very different than anything else I had done to honor my dad. I like to think he would have really liked this one. Thanks again for your very kind words. :-)
Oh Dawn, such a nice thing to say. Thank you very much dear. :-)
Sunshine, thanks for all the hugs. So nice to wake up in the morning and have a hug waiting for me. And that hoochie coochie hug was fabulous. Thanks for thinking of me sweetie. :-)
:-)
No surprise on 'fine', just as I predicted, lol.
got a little less sleep than normal last nite but otherwise I'm doing well
:0) you have been on my mind today so that is good to hear.
Trée, I knew that last year in November that you lost your father to Cancer.
A great and fitting tribute to your Dad.
JC
Thanks JC.
"the third was the complete questioning of all belief systems of life and death that sets in after the reality hits you that they are gone and they ain't coming back"
I am amazed at the way you keenly described those stages of loss. I'm still stuck in this third one at times, and the fractal you did of this one was scary. It was as it is.
Tre I really had tears in my eyes reading this...ur dad is a hero...no doubt abt that...and to have brought up a son like u, he sure must be more than just a hero...
Check-six Tre...not for enemies but for angels right behind ya...
Hugggggggggz TRE!
Keshi.
Terry, stuck is an interesting word. Stuck, stuck, stuck. I'm gonna play with stuck for awhile. Maybe, I'll go get stuck with stuckiness. You know, the more I think of stuck and stuckiness I think it would be better to be stuck with someone in stuckiness. Maybe get sticky with stucky. I think it takes two to get stuck. A stucker and a stuckee. I call stucker! Mmm, now I need to find a stuckee.
Oh my, thanks Terry for giving me the toys to play. Wanna play with me? ;-)
thank you Tree...i hope the day isn't too difficult for you, and that perhaps you will do something special with your family today to bring you a sense of comfort, and possibly look up to the Heavens and invite your dad to join you a while, though i have a feeling he is already very much with you this day, and many other days as well...
"Check-six Tre...not for enemies but for angels right behind ya..."
Oh my fricken my, that's abso-f***ing-lutely brilliant Keshi!
Were they there all along? ;-)
Lisa, it's been a very good day. Talked to my mom and had her come to this site to see what I had done. She hadn't seen my site before and I was thrilled that she loved all the images. Wants me to put them in a book for her with all the comments. Hmmm, don't think she's read all my comments yet--lmao.
Having so many friends stop by and leave such wonderful comments has been a special blessing all in itself too. Thanks for stopping in again Lisa. :-)
What a wonderful tribute to your Father. A true spirit that faced the "enemy" with great grace and honor.
Angel Blessings to his spirit, and to yours...
Rhi
ROFLMAO Oh my gosh I can't breath, stop it!
"Maybe get sticky with stucky"
You are punchy aren't you? Ha ha ha, the more I read what you wrote, Trée the funnier it gets! Breathe Terry, deep breath...
"I think it would be better to be stuck with someone in stuckiness"
I'm laughing so hard how can I play?
Thank you Rhi. Hope and trust you are well my friend. :-)
Terry, let me know when you catch your breath. I got some ideas but I don't wanna push you over the edge. At least not this early in the evening. What kind of gentleman would that be. :-)
A Gentleman with a definate twinkle in his eye...
definitely... rats, I always spell that word wrong :(
Terry, your spelling is of no concern to me at the moment. :-D
*twinkle*
"Wouldn't it be great to be in the same room working on a fractal together."
Oh the things that we could do.
I know I can cut the background out, but I've been hesitant to do so. It's a time thing. Rendering takes so long.
I'll be here alone on the holiday. I'll have this pc all to myself. Muuuahahahaaha ;)
"I'll be here alone"
Okay.
Insert my best wicked {quaidesque} smile.
hmmm, maybe your mom HAS read all the comments, and that's why she wants to make sure
you include them in her interesting book...! perhaps she knows you better than you think...!
i'm glad to see you have the comfort and support of so many of your kind and gentle friends here today, Tree. that will help in your healing.
Well, one never knows. :-)
Had such a giggle reading some of these latest comments!
Sounds like yourself and Terry are about to head out for some mud wrestling ;-) lol, have no idea from whence you pluck these things
"Maybe get sticky with stucky" :-D
Perhaps you need to do an edited version for you mom :-)
Are you applying for the editor position? Editor, Director of Marketing, and my speech writer too. Sure you have enough time for all these jobs. And don't forget, my main hoochie coochie too. :-)
You'd be keeping me busy, that's for sure :-)
Have a good night, x
All I can say is that I know exactly how it feels since 26 years back. I send a message to my mom every year on August 17th.
Trée,
A very nice tribute, one your dad could value. My thoughts are with you.
-oVo
Trée, I too was sure it was a photograph. It's an amazing work of art. It has that thing that makes it "more".
(I fully understand your Check-Six.)
I'm thinking of you...
Thanks Melly. The story behind this image makes it special, so many thoughts regarding the check-six metaphor, so many ways to see a piece of the broken mirror I call my memory. Thanks again for stopping by.
oVo, always good to have you grace these comments my friend. I appreciate you coming by to say hello.
Christa, we share a common experience and a bond of walking a similar path. Always good to have fellow travelers to keep us company. Hope you and the wulf are doing better.
Thanks A. Hope you're having a great day. It is Friday. :-)
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