For all friends of Chuck

On Saturday, January 25, 2014, Carol and I received a hand written note from Patsy Williams that told us that Chuck died on January 20th.  She wrote that Chuck had a stroke on August 23rd that paralyzed him on his left side, but seemed otherwise OK thru Christmas.  Then he wouldn’t eat, drink or take meds, so at the hospital he was found to have an incurable internal infection.  He went home with Hospice care, where surrounded by family, he died.  Patsy wrote that he would be cremated and they would have a Celebration of Life event on Sunday, February 23rd.

Chuck was a major part of my teens and a lifelong friend since.  It began with our 9th grade summer mowing lawns with some classmates.  And then there was MtL football, vacations on Bowman’s Island (actually Ewing Island) in Parry Sound of Georgian Bay.  He had a unique and subtle sense of humor (along with his Dad, who we dubbed “Great White Father”) that I’ll never forget, and he lived across the street from Carol.

When we mowed lawns that summer, we sometimes got rained out, so we would loaf on my porch and Chuck would create whimsical stories that each of us would embellish with much laughter.  Chuck’s stories contained words as follows:

           The Orient and West Wheeling – imaginary places.

           Poo C Foot – an imaginary, knowledgeable, but milquetoast person derived from the word, “pussyfoot” and nobody wants to be a pussyfooter.

           St. Louis (sometimes Oriental) Orange Juice Squeezing Club (OJSC) – an imaginary organization we are all members of, but whose leadership is controversial.

           Roont - Chuck’s variation of “runt”, which we jokingly considered Chuck to be because of his slim build.

           Slobe – Chuck’s variation of “slob”, which he called me because of my greater heft.

You get the idea, and in Chuck’s correspondence with me and others, he continued to use these words and invent similar funny nicknames for people throughout his years.

Knute Hartman

Hi Knute and Carol,

Chuck Williams
Wednesday, August 31, 2011 3:31 PM
KnuteandCarol

Music from Arizona

I just mailed you a CD of my most recent music. This one is in the same Old Tyme I Bluegrass genre as the last one, including one of my favorite tunes, Redwing, which I learned from Vic Lawrence at Volkwein Studios in Pittsburgh when I first started on the banjo. (I couldn't play the lead at the fast tempo we wanted so my friend Mitch played that while I filled in the harmony tracks.) Patsy and I are not going to make it to the Mt. Lebanon reunion, so perhaps you can create my presence by playing the music. I hope this will now qualify me for a promotion to higher office in the Orange Juice Squeezing Club, which definitely needs stronger leadership.

Things have been busy here. Patsy has now graduated from the grand piano to a Yamaha electronic keyboard - those things are absolutely amazing - she plays the melody and chords and the keyboard adds rhythm instruments and other
voices For the last couple of years she has also been applying her creative talent to making decorative gourds - she turns them into flower vases, pencil holders, coffee table decorations, and mostly to bizarre feathered "masks" that hang on the wall - got the idea from several local artists who work in that medium.

I continue to enjoy the outdoor opportunities of the Southwest. Several trips so far this year - lied a four-wheel drive, hiking, and camping adventure to Utah in a remote part in Canyonlands National Park called the Maze District. Probably
the most difficult driving situation I have ever encountered, and the hiking was above my pay grade but I didn't realize that until it was too late. After a very steep and rocky descent into a labyrinth of narrow canyons we faced the daunting task of climbing back out. But first we took some pictures! Edward Abbey has a chapter on it in his classic book "Desert Solitaire" - that will give you the idea. Better yet browse my photo book called "Adventures in Canyonlands". If you go on the internet to www.blurb.com/userlstore/chuckwill you will see a catalog of my published books and if you click on a book you can browse the pages. Even better - why not make a trip to Scottsdale and you can see the real thing!.

In July l led a group of photographers to the Sierra Nevada mountains in California. The eastern escarpment is very photogenic and easily accessed from the highway that runs along Owens Valley. You can check that one in my book
"Eastern Sierra". Last week we spent a day at the Grand Canyon where the weather patterns generate very photogenic clouds at this time of year.

For the past 4 summers I have been doinq volunteer work for the Arizona Trail Association, an organization that has created an 800 mile hiking trail that runs the whole length of Arizona. In spite of my early training in Pittsburgh as a ditch
digger for Booth and Flynn contractors I now contrbute as a photographer so I don't have to wield a pick and shovel. We are excited that the trail has now been officially designated a National Scenic Trail.

I remain active as president of the Digital Imaging Group, a gathering of folks interested in digital photography here in Scottsdale. Several months ago I taught a series of tutorials about "on demand" publishing of photo books and am now
preparing for another series on Black and White Conversion. That probably sounds funny but the software tools now available make it possible to operate on a color image to create a more "artful" black and white image - just like Ansel
Adams but without the darkened room and trays of chemicals. Would you believe another book - "Interpretations in Monochrome" .

Other than that we hardly have anything to do out here. Sorry we will miss the Mt. Lebanon festivities - say hello to everyone.

Chuck

From: "Williams, Chuck"To : "'Knute "'

Subject: RE: UR NEW PLACE

Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 17:40:55 -0400

 >From the Office of the Western Division, St. Louis OJS (Orange Juice Squeezing) Club

Just so you are aware, I have made a strategic proposal to Poo C for review at our next board meeting - namely scope expansion and appropriate re-organization. I am recommending that we make a dramatic move to include Grapefruit Juice in our product scope, and to make a corresponding move in our corporate structure and location to a western city such as Los Angeles or Scottsdale, both of which are better positioned for this larger business context. This of course means that we should reconsider who should fill the senior executive position . I told Poo C that if he asked I would accept his nomination as Chief Executive Officer. As a reward for your years of faithful service, we will try to find a suitable position for you .

On the home front , we are over the hump - the house building was finished on time, and the closing and move in were accomplished as planned in mid August. The change in temperature from low 80's in LA to 110 in Scottsdale was managed successfully, albeit with considerable sweat. We have now progressed to the point where most of the new furniture is in place, the new sound system is functional, the pool is functional, and the landscaping is finished.

The new situation is even better than we imagined . We are located on the very northern and eastern edges of Scottsdale, on the fringes of civilization, right in the McDowell Mountain range. We have a close-in view of the desert and a distant view to another mountain range to the east. The sunrise and sunset views are spectacular from our patio, especially during August and September , which the locals call the "monsoon season" because of the thunderstorms and huge cloud buildups every day.

We are also seeing lots of grandchildren, which was one of the reasons for making the move .

The guest bedroom is almost ready. You will have a choice of several mattresses of varying firmness. The only missing elements are the sign over the door to identify your bedroom, and curtains on the bathroom window and - but the bathroom faces the desert , and the coyotes won't mind.

I am commuting to LA for two days of work, and then working in Fort Worth Texas for the other three days of the week . Although we don't have much spare time on these consulting projects, Ft. Worth is a very interesting city - several art museums, good restaurants, etc.

I am using a new portable computer which has speakers and microphone, and my software says it can handle voice message and photos, although I haven't tried it yet. How about a few verses of Jimmy Cracked Corn to test it out.

Have to run to catch an airplane...

Love, Roont

From: Knute [SMTP:knucar@gator.naples.net]
Sent: Wednesday, October 01, 1997 8:39 PM

To:          Chuck@kurtsalmon.com

Subject:                UR NEW PLACE

From the Office of The President

Ran into Poo C. Foot yesterday while 1 was mowing the lawn. He allowed ashow he hadn't heard a durn thing about the St, louis Orange Juice SqueezingClub in a long while.  As its life-long President, I told him the Club's is asprofitable as ever, and the only thing new I knew was that its Secretary, Roont, had moved to Phoenix, a place in the desert made famous by Glen Campbell and some other no-account song writers. So Poo C. says, "Whul, how'd he and his wife get through it all, considerin' their years?". And I said that I really didn't know, but I'd ask. Whul?

 Love,

The President