This is a picture of Mark enjoying a piece of Mardi Gras King Cake sent directly from the Big Easy by his friend, John Robinson. Thanks John, we all enjoyed a piece.
Mark has a very light schedule on Saturday and Sundays, so it's a good time to visit.
Thank you all for the cards and flowers etc. We will be working on Thank You notes this weekend and making Valentines for his team.
9 comments:
Now there's the Mark I remember so well...
Joyce said...
Saturday just before noontime, we visited with Mark and Chris. If you haven't been out to Bryn Mawr Rehab yet, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The place was bustling with activity. Too bad it's wintertime because the grounds are very attractive. Mark was writing thank you notes in the community room. Chris was helping with addresses.
Now, if you've been putting off a visit - don't. Mark was thrilled when Reg and I walked in. He wants to hear your news.
Failing that, how about you all post a story? Tell how you met Mark. I'll go first.
After a short initial interview, I hired Mark to work with me at GSK as my right-hand, Production Manager in 1997. Nothing the Sales Training group dreamt up, and many projects were on an non-existant delivery schedules - i.e. wanted 3 days ago yesterday, got by us. Ten years later they still talk about the great team we made.
Kelley, Spensah, what are your stories?
Hope to hear from you soon.
In '69/'70 I had moved to California, hooked up with an old Army buddy, and was working as Art Dir. for a small ad agency in Palo Alto. When it became obvious that my backup artist was mostly interested in talking to redwood trees, we started interviewing. I needed a paste-up/mech. person. I got an endless stream of San Jose soon-to-be grads with arch.renderings, automotive design portfolios, and such like. As we were getting close to decision time, Mark walked in. I remember that his cheeks looked like he had shaved an old, established beard with sharpened clam shells...which was close. [his folks had convinced him that he HAD TO shave and cut his hair to go job hunting. This was 'hippie' days.] He was ushered into my office. He was much chagrined to see that I had a moustache and hair down to my belt.
On my drawing board was a mock-up of a brochure for an electronic fish finder. I was using a silhouette of fish. Mark glanced at it and said, "Buffalos, huh?" I was much amazed. I had picked the Small-Mouthed Buffalo for its distinctive fin shapes. I had never even heard of it prior to that morning. And he knew it.
Well, once thing led to another, and we ended up yakking away with each other for and hour or better. It was soon obvious that that while the college grads would have to be re-taught from the ground up, Mark, fresh from High School had at least done real-life mechanical paste-up for printing. Anything he didn't know, I had confidence that he'd pick up in a heartbeat. I hired him, and so it proved to be.
That was 37 years ago.
Hey Bubba: I called you and Chris this morning and left voice mail messages. Seems skinny OLD white guys should not learn to Kick Box. Last weekend I was training with my Master and he was teaching me some new moves. Said he would make me an even bad-err white guy by introducing kickboxing to the Hwa Rang Do and pure boxing we have been doing for about 18 months. Well I was doing this defense to the front kick – break down to my opponent’s front knee and then another roundhouse to the back knee. The move requires jump-kick-jump-kick-step-kick. Unfortunately I did kick; fall down with excruciating pain, my right leg involuntary curled itself up into a 270o bend and off to the emergency room we go. Seems I tore my ACL on the right knee. After 4 hours in the ER home I went with a immobilizing removable cast and an appointment for the MRI Tuesday. Went to the MRI Tuesday and the Orthopedic Specialist on Wednesday. Yep ACL gone. Nifty little neoprene knee brace, a prescription for 4 to 6 weeks of Pre-surgery prehab, then off to the gas-passer and the slice&dice guy.
I’ll have the surgery after we come back from Spring Break vacation where Adam and I were supposed to go Scuba Diving. I cannot imagine kicking fins with this Knee, but I emailed DonJoy, [no not my Latin lover], and asked them if they make a knee brace for scuba divers. This will be interesting. Anyway enough about me. You look like your are making great progress, your determination, fearless go-for-it nature has inspired me to get through my little ordeal. Keep it going brother; as soon as they release me to drive I’ll get out to see you.
Your buddy, Alan
One day, while I was singing sea chanteys with The Bilge Rats at the Taberna del Gallo in St. Augustine, Mark wandered in (in garb, no less) and sort of "keyed in" on me - kindred souls, as it worked out. We spent a lot of time hanging out on my sailboat, making all sorts of business and other plans... unfortunately, there wasn't a whole lot of Mark's kind of work in Northern Florida, so he ended up having to move to Philly. We were still going the rounds, trying to get some product development and Web presence stuff done - when, whoops... life threw him this curveball.
I'm sure glad to see him up and about and recovering. Not that I've been putting on a brave face - I don't play that kaka - but there was a whole lot of cencern mixed with my good wishes when it all started. Mark's a great guy, one in a million; I'm really, really grateful that we all live in an age when the help that he got exists (in, say, the 60s, the doctors would have just offered their condolences to the family.) I'm just... damn glad.
-- Ben and Kat, in L.A.
Rico Farden- AKA Mark W. Seymour
Rico and his gang were active in the 1890's in New Mexico and Arizona. Rico and his brother Spensah, ran the "Five Aces" gang that robbed banks, trains and stagecoaches. Rico started out with the nickname 202, because he was such a large man, but his skill with the six gun soon earned him the name Farden; i.e: he was about as able to hit the target with a fart as a gun. In the summer of 1895 in Guthrie, OK., the Seymour brothers were arrested for killing a peace officer. That is when I first became acquainted with Mr. Farden as a turn key in the jail. A short time later they broke out of jail and headed over to Arizona, where they carried on their lawlessness. On August 6, 1895, the Five Aces gang tried robbing the International Bank in Nogales, AZ. Although, the attempt failed when one of the gang members, Too Dang Frank, who was riding out of town with Harley Bob, was shot at by local newspaperman Tom Barker, which caused Harley Bob to drop the bag of money. Later that month, a posse led by Sheriff Mild Bill out of Tucson had a showdown with the gang near Skeleton Canyon. A deputy, Yellow Mike, was killed in the shootout and the Five Aces’ headed south to Mexico. Another posse was formed after getting word that Rico and the gang were back at it in Arizona, this was in 1897. The posse ambushed the gang and Rico managed to escape in what is now known as Quinton. After many train robberies a posse of lawmen hunted down the remainder of the Five Aces gang and Rico and after a short gun battle at Turkey Creek the outlaws escaped, but Rico was wounded so badly he was taken to a hospital and was turned in by a nurse, Christine Green (aka Mean Christine by some of her patients) . He survived his wounds and later took to wearing a black eye patch as a disguise. Sources close to the Five Aces Gang later reported that Rico and Mean Christine actually reconciled and she took his misdeeds as a challenge and endeavored to rehabilitate his wayward ways. Only time will tell……..
Sincerely, Deacon Will
Who got the baby? That person buys the next King Cake.
Hi John. I took the baby out to avoid a choking hazard for any of the patients. I guess it'll be my turn next year. Thanks again.
OK, I'll go next. I was an old antique gun shooter enthusiast. I had sorta been out of it for a while but wanted to get back into competition and hunted around for a club. I was at the National shoot a few years ago and was looking into a couple.
During a lull this guy with the classic 'old west' moustache says to me; 'You'd better join this one because we'll get along so well' (he had heard me talking about all the antique guns and other junk I had)...so I did join that club, and Mark and I became best friends of that group. It is such a laid back easy friendship that even though we shoot together only a few times a year it seems like we pick up our conversations right where we left them off last time.
I think that why I think when this shooting season starts (April) I'm really going to miss you Mark unless you hurry up and get back into the saddle. Hell, I'll do the shootin' for both of us (get the lousy score too), you just be there to egg us on!
Spensah.
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