Celebrating a good life

It's been nearly a week since my dad passed away peacefully at age 88. I actually drafted something to post here but didn't because I figured he wouldn't have wanted the attention. I never heard him brag and he did little to draw attention to himself. But he had a fanbase.

The formal Fresno Bee obit offers a quick overview of Dad's life, and is a good place to share your thoughts and memories. There also are various threads on Facebook and a lot of great comments in The Fresno Beehive in response to a post from Bee editorial page editor Jim Boren.

50,000 views = proud papa

I regularly remind myself that I'm blessed to have three beautiful, intelligent and funny women in my life: my wife and two daughters. They inspire me, keep me grounded, and otherwise make me proud.

I was reminded of that when I saw that a video my oldest daughter Allie co-created with her seventh-grade Fruitvale Junior High classmate Ali Castellanos had surpassed 50,000 views on YouTube. Amid millions of videos on the site, that's an amazing accomplishment.

Their "Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired" video, a 10-minute look at the life of civil-rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, was created as part of the 2007 National History Day competition.  They conducted a variety of phone interviews for the shoot, including celebrated politicians John Lewis and Andrew Young.

The message of the video is powerful enough, but even after dozens of viewings I get teary-eyed knowing it was created by two seventh-grade amateurs using ancient school multimedia technology.

And with more than 50,000 views, 70 positive ratings and more than 40 appreciative comments, it's wonderful to know others feel the same way.