Barbecuing and Memory Sharing: A Salute to Kodak: "Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever"

Barbecuing & Memory Sharing

Sharing meals and sharing memories have one thing in common: whenever you move either activity OUTDOORS -- where family, friends, and neighbors can join in together -- it instantly becomes the centerpiece of a happy family tradition...

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Thumbnail bio: Mark Withrow...

Hi There... I'm the founder of The VeteranShield Project (www.VeteranShield.org), a new nonprofit organization. I was born (way back in '52) and raised in West Sacramento and Moss Beach, CA. I had a happy, small-town upbringing. My late father (the most courageous and honest man I've ever known) started out as a machinist/welder for Southern Pacific railroad and later rose to become the GM of our local utility company and president of the water board. He also served as a volunteer firefighter and fire chief (for over 30 years total, and in both communities). My dear late Mom was a full-time mother, a part-time Avon Lady, and a scratch bowler on her league team. I grew up fishing (bass, trout, catfish & perch), hunting (deer), sport diving (abalone, lobster), and dirt-bike riding... "Life Was Good"... As for me, during my lifetime I've been a welder; a Sergeant of Marines (mostly Embassy Duty: Luxembourg, USSR, and New Zealand); a commercial mixed-gas oil field diver and diving supervisor (mostly North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico); co-owner of a sport diving shop (in Finland, of all places); a straight-commission salesman; a freelance copywriter; an ocean yacht delivery skipper (USCG 100-Ton Master); and an over-the-road big rig driver. My main goals in my choice of work have always been to: 1) make myself useful, and 2) avoid being bored. Towards that end, I'm happy to state that I've never occupied a cubicle in my life. I'm humbly grateful to be the proud father of two intelligent and beautiful daughters, father-in-law to two upstanding sons-in-law, and grandfather to one darling and brilliant 2-year-old granddaughter (Hi Mona!). I could certainly stand to drop some lbs, but my overall health is excellent. I also like long walks on the beach and (hold on a sec, this isn't THAT kind of bio). Anyway, due to my many good friends at home and around the world... "Life Is STILL Good"... and much better than I deserve.
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1. Veterans Day, 2008
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2. A Salute to Kodak: "Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever"
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Barbecuing and Memory Sharing: A Salute to Kodak: "Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever"

A Salute to Kodak: "Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever"

    I've always admired the Kodak company. Like most boomers, I grew up with them; looking back, there really is no other photography company that comes to mind during the 50's, 60's and 70's. Back in the day, "Kodak" was the word printed on the back of the family snapshots taken by almost every American.

    Today, of course, the advent of digital photography has made the number of supplier choices practically endless. And that's a good thing. Still, Kodak remains a powerful force to be reckoned with. They've recently rolled out some amazing new hi-speed, hi-resolution digital scanners and mobile scanning services that look very promising. If you've ever spent a lost weekend (or two) at home trying to use a flat-bed scanner to slowly and painstakingly scan a shoebox full of old photos onto your hard drive, then you can certainly appreciate what incredible time savers such modern equipment and services can be.

    Another reason I have a soft place for Kodak is because of my fond memories of their television ads from my youth.  Believe it or not, those early "Kodak Moment" smaltz-fests even surpassed the 60-second tear-jerkers from the long-distance phone companies (having witnessed my mom's usual reaction, I suspect that Kleenex co-sponsored all of 'em). However, the Kodak ads were always tasteful and well done, and usually designed to make any parent immediately grab their camera (Instamatic, natch) and quickly burn off a roll or twenty of Kodachrome before their child got even one minute older.

    The most famous Kodak commercial, of course, was the unforgettable "Turn Around".  If you really want to see an old Marine bawl and blubber (naw, you don't), just sit me down with a scrapbook of my now-grown daughters when they were small and make me listen to the original song (written and performed by the incomparable Harry Belafonte). Trust me when I say: It ain't pretty.

    However, there is an incredibly inspiring Kodak promotional video that is less well-known (below).  For me, this video perfectly captures the spirit behind The VeteranShield Project.

(NOTE: the full video is a little over 6 minutes long, and worth every second. However, there's also a shortened version.)

Keep Me, Protect Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever.

Pretty amazing, eh?

Someday, I'd love to work with the Kodak folks to produce a similar video promoting The VeteranShield Project. And, even though I like Kodak's original title, I now think a better title for a Kodak/VeteranShield video would be: Save Me, Shield Me, Share Me... and I Will Live Forever...