Category: Animals

#51 Salt & Pepper

Chaz DeSimone 16 Comments
51-salt-pepper
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Dad­dy died March 29, 1962, over a half cen­tu­ry ago. I was 10 years old. He was 62.

Now I am 62.

You can imag­ine March 29 this year has been on my mind a lot late­ly. I am healthy, still feel young and strong (until I do some­thing stu­pid at this age), so it’s hard to imag­ine my dad look­ing like such an old man when he passed away at only 62 years old.

But he always looked like an old man to me, and I loved him for it. That’s one rea­son I’ve always respect­ed my elders. You see, my dad was 51 years old when I was born. Already he had salt & pep­per hair, and still a full head of it in the cas­ket. That’s how I’ve always seen and remem­bered him: with this beau­ti­ful, wavy salt & pep­per hair that I want­ed when I grew old. Well, I have it. Mine’s more sol­id gray, but that’s okay. It still reminds me of Dad­dy. (I nev­er called him Dad, always Dad­dy as I was only 10 when he died. So if it sounds sil­ly that I still call him Dad­dy, well that’s okay…it just sounds right to me.)

I could tell you a lot about this man I loved and admired, and I will. But one thing that is absolute­ly fas­ci­nat­ing is that Andrew J. De Simone was born Decem­ber 31, 1899. That’s the last day of the cen­tu­ry before last! Which meant he was always the same exact age as what­ev­er year it was—to the day. That’s why it’s a lit­tle con­fus­ing to com­pre­hend he was 51 when I was born in 1951. And he was 62 when he died in 1962. Read More

#57 Early & Late

Chaz DeSimone 4 Comments

57-early-late

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You’ve heard the expres­sion “always ear­ly, nev­er late.” Or is it “nev­er ear­ly, always late”? Well, the oth­er day I was both — which inspired Amper­Art #57, Ear­ly & Late.

I was going to meet a new friend at the movies, and she said she’d be there at 7:15 (the show start­ed at 7:25). Not want­i­ng to make a bad first impres­sion, I arrived at the the­ater at 6:55.

Only to dis­cov­er I had for­got­ten my wal­let. Read More

#40 Look & See

Chaz DeSimone 9 Comments

I love the quote by Jill Pet­ty, which was per­fect for the image of the swans, and so very pro­found (besides offer­ing an amper­sand opportunity):

Love is when you look into someone’s eyes and see their heart.

I also like this say­ing by Will Moss that ties love to sight (also with an amp op):

Love is not blind — it sees more and not less, but because it sees more it is willing to see less.

And I love my friends, for they are always teach­ing me some­thing amaz­ing. My friend Melody says:

“Swans are known for their fideli­ty. They are loy­al to each oth­er as a cou­ple once they come togeth­er, they are a cou­ple for life. They are also a great sym­bol of beau­ty and grace.

“And how about the extra­or­di­nary tale of the ugly duck­ling who becomes a swan! The meta­mor­pho­sis of tran­scend­ing one’s own being in such an extra­or­di­nary way is awe inspiring.”

Swans are white
Lakes are blue
Here’s some AmperLove
From me to you

No mat­ter what col­or your loved one’s eyes are, the pupils are black. And that’s the part that sees.

Black is a gor­geous col­or to rep­re­sent true love. It’s deep, for­ev­er, classy and hon­est like the print­ed word. Love is also mys­te­ri­ous, anoth­er good rea­son for black.

I received a black rose on Valen­tines Day in high school once, which meant “unpop­u­lar.” Well, if being a nerd is what it took to get my favorite col­or in a flower, so be it. I loved that rose, even though my favorite flower is a carnation.

My friends think that’s mor­bid, as car­na­tions remind them of funer­als. Well, car­na­tions — espe­cial­ly the white ones with the red rims — remind me of going to the Car­na­tion Ice Cream counter with Dad­dy every week­end for our 5‑cent ice cream cones. And that, my friends, was love.

A black carnation…ah, that’s my idea of the per­fect Valen­tines Day flower.

Hap­py Valen­tines Day, what­ev­er col­or you love the most.

Production Notes:
Original size: 20x30”
Program: Photoshop
Fonts: Poppl-​Residenz, Palace Script (ampersand, modified)
Photography: Zurijeta, 123rf​.com