I do have yet another online scrapbook on YouTube. With yesterday's story about Reed's early guitar playing, here're a couple videos from a guitar recital when he was 12. He and his teacher, Norman Babia, even played a little entertainment intermission for us.

So the picture on the left has a good story. Reed and I are about to play for his Dominican Catholic School Talent Show a song about a whorehouse. House of the Rising Sun has me doing the arpeggios while Reed sings, plays chords on the keyboard, and then plays the interlude on the guitar. The girls were all screaming and it threw me off but Reed didn't miss a note. It might be interesting to mention that all the nuns sang right along with him.

OK So today starts a new Covid 19 project. About 20 years ago I started an online scrapbook on Flicker. It occurred to me I could put it on the blog, add a few notes and have everything together. So here goes--

Here we have right to left (Chronologically) Our family picture from 2002?, a picture of me working in the Andersen AFB Library and a rather prophetic picture of Reed.

Of course, we're all enduring life in the time of the coronavirus. Jade and Reed are working to reduced patrons at the Treylor Park Restaurant. I've been having my little project below of putting some old family pictures here on the Web with notes. Back home on Guam, Guam Sports Network had their little project of ranking the multi-sport HS athletes of the last decade. As Reed was one of the very few boys of even the last 3 decades to be All Island in three spots, we expected him to be there. Not even mentioned. He wrote a nice letter to them. Robert Balajadia wrote back.

Now Reed's memory was a little faulty. In soccer, He was first team All Island once. In Volleyball he was first team All Island twice. He was never second team in either.

My Mother Caroline Augusta Schmidt Meyer 1921-2004

Born 1921 along with twin sister Adeline to Herb and Gusty Schmidt. Went to Clark, SD High School. Joined the Navy (Waves) along with sisters Adeline and Mildred and all three were stationed in Cleveland, OH. Married Ralph Meyer of Cleveland in 1949 and moved back to SD to take over Ralph's Resort on Lake Kampeska near Watertown, SD. Moved to Reno, NV in 1979. Worked at a bank as a teller. Retired back to Watertown, SD in 1989. 5 children. Ralph 1950, Joseph 1953, Herbert 1957, Richard 1960, Mark 1961.

My Maternal Grandparents Herb and Augusta Thies Schmidt

Herb and Gusty Schmidt went through a difficult time for a farm family in South Dakota. Besides raising four girls and no boys, the "Dirty 30s" were tough for everybody and Herb's family survived because he made the decision to buy a truck and make a living driving. It paid off as growing up in the 50s I remember Grandpa had a new Oldsmobile every 3 years like clockwork. He helped my Dad and Mom buy Ralph's Resort and Dad said he was the most honest man he'd ever met. I maintain that Herb and Gusty's biggest contribution was what they gave us genetically. The four daughters, Leona, Twins Caroline and Adeline, and Mildred, produced 14 grandchildren, 13 boys and a girl. In this group, there's an unusually high number of musicians culminating in Gordon Hallberg, for many years the bass trombone player for the Boston Symphony and athletes led by Ry Schmelz, a South Dakota state record holder in the shot put. Even today, my son Reed, both a musician and athlete is going to school on the proceeds of land that Grandpa Herb bought. The picture above is from their 50th wedding anniversary.