Amazing James

 

No-one's gonna make a monkey outta me. I'm the rightful ruler anyone can see chants the malevalent King K. Rool in this episode of Donkey Kong (DK). The song brings a smile to James. His smile is more joyful than sinister. It becomes a shared thing with Papa Wes who is also entertained. He's a bad guy but this is his way of trying to beat the odds against him when he tries to take bananas from DK. (K. Rool hates bananas but he wants to take something away from DK.)

James is learning something this week about good vs. evil. DK will prevail. Pete the Cat will make good choices. Mario and Luigi keep moving. Life goes on. 

James takes the bus to school each morning and enjoys seeking friends at the bus near the English Manor just off Logan Avenue. He's escorted by mom and/or dad every day. The pick him up after school at this location too. 

 

James enjoys a light snack after school (maybe a bagel with cream cheese, or a salad).  His palate is pretty sophisticated, He likes pink lemonade. He might enjoy a salad with chunks of chicken or a carefully prepared and cut PB&J. 

His pal Felix comes over and taps on the door. They play pretend games or find their way to the neighborhood trampoline in Felix Martinez's backyart which helps to make the next door neighbors yard part of the Morgan-Martinez compound. 5-6 kids might be experiencing a kind of weightlessness as they bounce. Weather permitting they might engage in water fights.

James is thrilled to win an octopus and a clown fish on the Jenkinson's Boardwalk at Point Pleasant beach after a family dinner at the Lobster Pot with mom, dad, maternal grandmother (Jean/Gigi) and paternal grandfather (Papa Wes). He wins the octopus and clownin in a "fishing" booth but doesn't beat the odds in the ring toss. The guys throwing bullets through tire swings with NFL recievers painted in the backdrop. 

There is just enough time for Gigi and Papa to watch James enjoying a chocolate milk shake with whip cream and a cherry on top. Dad is heading home and Mom is our ride. 

Mom showed up just in time. Security and bicycle cops are involved in an intervention of some rough looking gals that have some sort of altercation near the boardwalk. (Just another day on the job, it seems.) 

    

Gone but Never Forgotten

    `

 

I reflect as I write this poem;

Without you, this is not a home;

But I as I wander and as I roam;

I can see that I’m not really all alone.

 

Gone but somehow always with me;

Clarity now, I wish I could always see.

It is as crystal clear as it could be;

So casual and ordinary and so carefree.

 

Augmentation of family and friends;

A quality of life so completely depends;

No regrets, but if I could make amends…

The beginnings began without regards to ends.

 

From your smile on the day we met;

Not a day or a minute would I reset.

What I got was a good as it gets;

We beat the odds against all bets.

 

Thank you for being a nudge and a pest…

My dearest, I pray that you are truly at rest.

You gave all, and were truly the best.

Our babies know, full well now, having left the nest.

 

I wouldn’t trade a minute of a single day,

With kindness and care it was your way,

There is hardly anything more I can say.

There are no words - nothing anyone can say.

Love painting at top by Ben Morgan.

Photo Above: photo at Max and Mary's on Father's Day Week 2022.

Deborah (Digger) and David Schatzow.

Max and Mary Schatzow with Lilly and flanked in middle is Daniel.

Flashing peace sign is Samson with his dad on center of couch Perry (mom Autumn is right of couch). Behing me (Wesley A Morgan) is my daughter Lindsey Morgan Dewey with her son Lawton and the matriarch Toby Stevens in seafoam green and my boy Ben on the couch in light green polo shirt.  

 

 

But enough about me...

 

But enough about me... How did you like my last movie? My uncle David used that line from time to time and it reminds me of two things: 1. Don't take yourself too seriously and 2. Keep going with new challenges. Actors are, perhaps more familiar with the need to reinvent themselves but we all need to stay actively engaged in becoming our best selves. 

I'll admit that I have been very fortunate on my journey. I have been blessed with career stops in advertising, marketing and education. My avocations have included golf (never gonna make the pro tour), art (fan and practitioner), family (the best), friends (in spite of my episodic life and moves). I've been a member of the American Marketing association for more than 25 years, a docent at Laumeier Sculpture Park more than 10 years, I was active with advertising clubs in New York, Miami. Raleigh and Saint Louis (notably in recruiting Addy Judges for 18 years). I was talent show coordinator at SSD Neuwoehner High School for four years in a row. 

I could ramble on for hours about the wonderful and amazing things that have happened with me and around me. To be sure, I am NOT always the star of the movie but there is joy even in some of the bit parts and stints.

This picture gives you a snap of me and my siblings. My big brother was absent for this photo - proably in college. My dad was pretty good at keeping those bicycles in working order over the years. We were a family of six kids with just one sister (my favorite sister).

This pic is of the amazing crew at HBE were I managed to reinvent myself as a corporate marketing  guy. In photo are SteveWilliams. Sally Eaton, Jane House, Vicky Napier, me, Linda Jones and Steve O'Rourke.

Even in High School, I was focused on the idea of the merger of art and commerce. This is a pic from the Lakewood High School Yearbook when I was a Junior.

I was a sucker for competition (T-Shirt design contest got me tickets to Greek Week Ball and a B&W TV set as a prize). In college I was a frequent contributor to my college newspaper, as a cartoonist and yearbook as editor. Lots of little victories.

 

That's me with mom and three brothers on the Chris Craft 29' "Leprechaun". In spite of being third in birth order, mom tagged me as "oldest of the four boys"

Eventually, I was "the shortest of the four boys" 

This amazing woman became the mother of my two amazing kids and my wife of 41+ years before she passed peacefully last year (Feb 3, 2022). We had a girl and a boy (a full set).

And, oh yeah, I was the center on the Lakewood High School football team, We went 8-2 my senior year. 

CYO football in Saint Luke Green and Gold uniform, This pic is of me in seventh grade with #19 is Tim Dowling.

My brother Greg and I graduated from the University of Miami at the same time. My dad called us the "twin headaches".  My brother (now known as Sundance) and I participated in a big adventure on a bicycle trip from South Orange, NJ to Gettysburg, PA around 1989-90.

 

I was the account guy at Rocket Burkhead Lewis and Winslow when our client Skybox produced a TV spot with Magic Johnson and his 11 year old son. The spot promoted the Skybox trading card line featuring Magic and the Olympic Dream Team.  

I was account guy at Crispin, Porter + Bogusky and Tinsley Advertising in Miami. 

Adweek published this photo in Saint Louis as I moved to the client-side. As chapter leader of the American Marketing Association we showcased some of the leading ad agencies in a panel discussion. Pic shows John Lewington of Maryville University, Tom Townsend of Rodgers Townsend, me, Cliff Franklin of Fuse, Mark Kempter of Core and  Arlo Oviatt of D'Arcy

Team TBWA Saint Louis back in the Day. That's the incomparable Evan Willnow on the left and me front & center with cigar.

That's me with my Angel on her wedding day. It doesn't get much better.

But what could be better than a round of golf with my son? 

Or some quality time with James (or his cousin Lindsey's boy Lawton). 

Five Guys and a girl (our sister). Sundance attended Georgetown and the University of San Francisco but finished his college undergraduate career at the University of New Orleans, LA. Burgers and Fries all around.

 

 

My people show up when it's really important. Greg (front and center in black) and his two boys (Matt and Wes), Rob (back and center), Lindsey and Chris Dewey, Ben and Allison Morgan and Yadi.

I miss having a land line. (I lost my cell phone this week.)

Well we got the band back together last Friday (May 5, 2023). Tom Shaughessy, Dave Cox, Rowdy Jones, me, and special guest star Marco Tocco at the Magnolia Marine event at Cloverleaf Golf Course in Alton, IL. 

Some of the Unsual Suspects at the 2022 AMA Golf event at Creve  Coeur Golf Course

 

The HBE Alumni Memorial Annual is the first Saturday in Ocotber each year (initially to honor Ted Brown who passed in 2009)

And every once in a while the University of Missouri - Saint Louis (UMSL) Marketing Club gets a round in at Creve Coeur Golf Coiurse (CCGC) too.

The regional retreat in Lincoln, NE with Nick Niehaus, Dave Shogren, me and Vanessa Lobo Niehaus. I also attended the Leadership Summit in Chicago this year (2023) with incoming president Dave Shogren. That was my 7th Leadership Summit in my 25+ years as a member and mostly some sort of board member most of those years.

Account Guy (me) around 1983-84 leading the effort to help the client understand why it costs so much to produce a piece of print advertising. That's Ed and Barbara from JVC flanked by Tony and Wes from Marsteller Advertising, 

I agreed to be on the board of the Triangle Advertising Federation (The Research Triangle Ad Club in North Carolina). The president delivered that plaque but I took a job and relocated to Miami (around 1994).

...in 2008 I got Philip Kotler to sign a testimonial to my marketing leadership...(He was a good sport about it). 

....BUT enough about me. How did you like my last movie, More episodes coming...

My People

 

 

As I reflect on my life, direction and relationships I cannot help but think of the people and places that mark time for me. As my journey continues, I cherish family members more than ever. I count myself remarkably fortunate to have them in my life. Family has a way of keeping you on track and positive about the here and now as well as the prospects for the future. That’s certainly true for me. Especially as I feel the very real love that is so much more than the sum of the countless parts.

Dem Kids 

My wife of more than 41 years was a critical part of recognizing the amazing achievements of our kids. We shared so many happy moments as we saw them grow and prosper. Two kids, “a complete set” were Lindsey and Ben. They both found paths in the world that magnified the thousands of little victories of growing up in our movable feast of family life that resulted in moving from New Jersey to Los Angeles and back before going to North Carolina, Florida and Missouri. I know those moves caused stress but I hope they also contributed to the strength and adaptability that is so apparent in them today. 

The force multiplier of those two amazing kids, as they became adults, is the truly wonderful lives they live that starts with the partners they have chosen and the bonus grandchildren that have resulted. It brings me joy to see them proper and demonstrate astounding parenting skills with loving care and kindness. (In spite of my keen awareness of my own flawed abilities.)

 

The Matriach

My 90+ year young mother-in-law has become, for me, a great source of support and inspiration. She lost her husband three decades ago (1993) and has proven time and again that we have the very real leadership and guidance of the matriarchy. I started calling her on Mondays after my wife (her daughter) passed away more than a year ago. I might have thought I was consoling her in the beginning but now I can see the value of her wisdom and power that so often appears as a quiet stoicism. To be sure, I cannot thank her enough for demonstrating what it means to be a pillar of strength and courage.

Sister in Law #1 - Randazzle

My wife loved her older sister Randy. They say you cannot be too rich or too thin, (She’s both.) Nevertheless, she has been a source of strength as she challenges me to “live your best life”.  She lost her husband a few years ago. Her daughter will be married in the coming year.

Sister in Law #2 – Digger

Lynn was clearly a middle-child. My wife loved her younger sister, Deborah. Digger struggles with a case of chronic hypochondriasis (my joke). She is mom to two boys, each with thriving families of their own.

     

My Siblings

Since the passing of our parents in 2011 and 2013 we became six adult orphans. We all look back on our respective childhoods (beginning with our birthdays scattered throughout the years of 1944-1958) with a fondness that belies our childish grievances. Through masterful parenting, I was denied “middle child syndrome” in spite of being third in the birth order. Our only sister (second in birth order) navigated brilliantly as she confronted being a grown-up beginning with a teen pregnancy. The oldest managed to find peace, on his own terms, without trying to live up to an arbitrary perception of potential. My brother and I (3^rd and 4^th in the birth order) survived a lifetime of comparisons that began as I was “held back” in first grade. We shared so many rights of passage. Dad dubbed us the “twin headaches” as we pursued our individual academic lives as undergraduates at the University of Miami. Mom and Dad, by all accounts, mellowed a bit for siblings #5 and #6 but they each experienced unique and wonderful careers  as photographer and business leader/entrepreneur respectively.

Through this diverse set of reference points I cannot say enough about the joy I get in seeing those amazing lifetimes unfold. Morgans: 11 weddings, 9 college degrees, 9+ kids, 5 states (current) and so on. We're watching you and yours family tree: JV (Lane and Colleen), Philip, Lindsey/Chris (Lawton), Ben/Allison (James), Wes, Matt/Bianca, Lauren, Michael, Megan/Parker, Tara/Adam (Camille, Thomas), Kevin/Madelyn... And Sam and Toby Stevens' girls - Deborah: Perry/Autumn (Samson, Marlowe),  Max/Mary (Lilly, Daniel), and Randy: Erica/Bug. It goes on.  

        

Kindness

 

Kindness is the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. It is something I always noticed about the woman I married. Lynn always made an effort to recognize people around her everywhere she went. Her kindness was felt by grocery store personnel, restaurant staff, healthcare workers, teachers, police and countless others. She let people know they were appreciated – especially the people that are too often taken for granted. This note carefully crafted on airline cocktail napkin by a flight attendant in 2021 speaks volumes. The message is genuine and an unsolicited testimonial. Lynn shared it with me upon returning to Saint Louis from a trip to visit with family in New Jersey in the Fall of 2021. Just a few months later she was gone 2/3/2022 RIP Lynn. 

  

 

Easter Week in Cleveland - Janie part 5

April showers bring May flowers, or so they say. I confess it has been 75 days since Janie and I sat courtside at the Cavs – Bucs game in Cleveland and 311 days since she met Dan and I at the Pier W restaurant on my birthday. (We’ve been together in August in Cleveland, October in Columbus and again in January in Cleveland. We have a comfortable chemistry and just enough mutual admiration to fuel daily text messages. It also supports my own ongoing campaign to keep the U.S. Postal Service in business.)

My wife Lynn has been gone 417 days. I have been blessed with remarkable kids (Lindsey and Ben) who have families of their own – each with caring spouses and each with boys born in the vintage year 2016.

A huge, and somewhat unexpected, bonus is Toby, my mother-in-law, of whom I have always known to be a courageous stoic. We talk on the phone weekly.  Recently she offered this amazing bit of encouragement. "It’s important to turn the page…and you have," She says. This amazing woman (now in her 90s) lost her husband in 1993 and her daughter (my wife of 41 years) in 2022. “Stay busy, it’s important,” she advises. I love the Matriarch!

My trip to Cleveland is driven by the desire to see Janie again but tempered by the window of low airline fares. I land on April 6-9 and my brother Dan negotiates the special rate at the Winton Place in Lakewood. It’s Easter Week. Janie apologizes about a variety of family plans she has with her grandchildren. (Janie reports: Well they are going to have to make a traditional nutroll, and there is an Easter Egg hunt… She's back from a drive to visit her youngest (Luke) and his fiance (Meredith) in Charlotte. She added a side trip to South Carolina to watch some professional tennis...before returning to Cleveland.

Janie is good at staying busy herself. She's been divorced for 9+ years and navigates family occassions with her four children, here former husband, her three brothers, a bundle of cousins, a former sister in law, five granddaughters and another one by former daughter-in-law's previous marraige. All the while she remains a Soccer mom at heart, a basketball fan and a devoted reader of the Sunday New York Times. She maintains a robust schedule of trips to the theater, concerts, comedy shows and movies. She has been a nurse for 42 years and, in spite of declaring retirement, she takes a pretty regular number of shifts at University Hospital. (Needless to say, I feel fortunate when she can any make time for me.)

Berthe Moriset about 1869-73 by Edouard Manet

My brother Dan agrees to greet me at Cleveland Hopkins airport and I've got a pair of ticket to see Noises Off at the Beck Center on Thursday evening. An outline and some highlights of this vist:

April 6 (Thursday) - Southwest STL to CLE. Winton Place. Panera (w/Janie), Noises Off at the Beck Center ("Hang up the phone, Leave the Sardines."). 

April 7 (Friday) - Museum of Contemorary Art (MOCA) and Cleveland Institure of Art with Dan. The Winking Lizard with Dan and Netti. Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) evening event CMA Mix 5:30-10:30 with Dan. It's opening day for the Baseball Guardians, 

April 8 (Saturday) - Dan's working at CMA but I ride to University Circle. CMA 10:00 to 2:30. Ace Cab to Winton. Old River Tap and So in Rocky River with Janie. Mac & Cheese and Quesadillas. Winton Place with Janie until 11p.m. 

April 9 (Easter Sunday) - return to Saint Louis on Southwest Airlines via Atlanta.   

Note: No rain at all but I feel like Spring is still the beginning of so many things.