DarenDoc’s Slightly Nifty Musings Inc.

Grandpa Doc, Daren, and Dad, circa 1969

Tomorrow, October 24th, would have been my grandpa’s 112th birthday.  Milford Dochterman was born in the 19th century.  1898. He lived to be an energetic 80-something year old, and I thought he was awesome.

He was born in Iowa and moved to Illinois when he was 19… where he became a railroad signal-man’s helper.  He worked his way up to full Signal man and spent 25 years on the Milwaukee Road Railroad.

He was also an artist, and craftsman.

One of his passions was wood carving and he built amazing replicas of Circus wagons out of wood.  He built a small Steam Engine and Coal Car for me when I was born… with the number 1967 on the side.  Later, he built a huge fully detailed steam engine with a working headlight and magnetically attached roof over the control cabin.  It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen… and he’d built it from nothing.  He later taught me how to build things and make things with my hands.  I stayed with him and his second wife for a couple summers and he would help me build stuff in his basement workshop. (it was there that he helped me build a “star trek” communicator out of wood… and the year after a large TIE Fighter model… all from scratch.)

In 1981 he passed away, but only after years of whooping it up at the local VFW dancing and drinking Manhattans and eating Prime Rib and generally being a swingin’ man about town.

He smoked cheap White Owl and Dutch Masters cigars and bought them by the box.  To this day, I can’t smell a cigar and not have these wonderful memories of him.

Oh, and he also played the banjo.

I miss him a lot.

In honor of the season finale of MAD MEN last night…. here is an appropriate picture….

My Dad was one of them.  He bounced around advertising agencies and commercial production companies in New York in the sixties and early seventies.  Every time I see the show, I think of him… and what it must have been like.

Here are my Mom and Dad from 1965.

Thought I would put up something funny.

I’ve been getting good responses from the last post about stuff from What About Bob?… so here are a couple more things…

First is the original idea I had for the Baby Steps book cover… was much more playful and cartoony… and was completely what they didn’t want… as is so often the case, they don’t tell you what they want at first, to see if you have any ideas that they like…  so this was the first pass:

A little too "on the nose"...

Next is the first very very rough layout idea for what became the final book cover.  The text I later replaced with finely rendered text… but this was my rough, so it gave the idea without me having to break out the rapidographs just yet.

featuring dad with his bohemian beard... circa 1961

And finally, the t shirt that I mentioned Bill Murray had made as crew gifts from my caricature I drew of him… He autographed it and had them done.  I’m rather happy with the likeness.

Don't Hassle me, I'm local... was what his costume shirt said in the movie.