CLog 09042017 - Mister C

Captain's Log 09042017 - Mister C is a video featuring Chris reading two of the personal letters written to him by his late father.

The first, penned in 1987, touches on such topics as his hopes and dreams for his son, his collections which he would leave to Chris and his request that if Chris didn't wish to keep them, to recycle them back into the world for others to use. The second, penned in 2008, discusses his desire for Chris and Sonichu to become something of a spokesteam for autistic people worldwide — a notion Chris, ever respectful, openly scoffs at.

In a rare occurrence, Chris displays genuine emotion towards Bob's life and passing in this video.

Video
"All of the physical objects and things I have, we'll talk about. [...] If you don't think you will ever need some of them, or don't want some of them, don't waste them. Try to do something with them that you and your mother think I would do. Recycle them back into the world, for the world to use. Remember, after all, we are only the custodians for a while, and what is one man's junk is another man's treasure."

- Bob

Transcript
-everybody on the internet, this is Christine Chandler, coming to you live from home once again. And, uh, today it is a special Captain's Log, Stardate 09042017. This date marks my father's- my late father's, [holds up black and white photo of Bob] Robert Franklin Chandler Jr, his 90th birthday. [holds up color photo of Bob as well] Miss him every day, heh. Young- younger, older, younger, older, ehh, there's a couple pictures of him, heh. [puts photos down] Anyway, uhh, in honor of his birthday today, I'd like to share something that actually came from him. He actually typed up and hand wrote a few things to me. Heh, so, I'm pretty much gonna reading that out, uh. Oh, this was old and whatnot, and then this one was just more recent, uh, like, I dunno, no more than a decade ago. But anyway, uh, in honor of his birthday, I'm gonna be reading out his, uh, letter that he made out to me... and my... born name. Alright, so anyway, started this- he started this, uh, and then, uh, found place to-unintelligible-eventually came to-but he started on December 28th, 1987, this was after he got his Tandem brand computer, used the word processor in that, I used the word processor on there as well for, I-I made the list of all the video games I owned. That was pretty much there, I mean it was just a word processor.

Anyways, so:

"To Christopher Weston Chandler, from your Daddy. Started December 26th, 1987.

The reason for this open letter to you which will grow as time goes on, is that I know now that I, at best, haven't much time left to share myself with you. Particularly to share my things, my dreams, and my thoughts with you at a time in the future when you will be able to understand, remember to use my things and carry on my dreams if you want to. Hopefully we will grow much older together. I will probably be rambling until I drive you to distraction, but just bear with me, because I will get to the point sooner or later. I hope I have been able to provide for you and your mother until you at least get to college, and for your mother, until she joins me at the great sing-a-long in the sky, or wherever. Anyway, I expect you to take care of her, love her, and never disappoint her for as long as she lives. I also expect you to never disappoint me, because I will always be with you to help you when the going gets tough, and you need me. Since everything always seems to happen for the best for me, and when I needed it, I have always felt like my mother was my guardian angel. You look exactly like my mother and I.

I didn't plan my life. I just took it as it came along. I seem to have had no control over it. It always came along with what was right for me. Look at me eight years ago in 1979. When I was really down and out, no friendship from Alan and Carol-"

My half-brother and half-sister, he was their father.

"-and ready to cash in my chips with heart problems that I didn't even know about. Your mother, Barbara Ann, helped me through the rough spots and together we had you. Now, I really had something to live for. No better things or events could have happened to me. We have come a long way in the last eight years. Together, we have built a whole new life with an exciting set of dreams.I also expect you to never disappoint yourself. If you think you are at a dead end at something you are trying to do, just stand back, and if it is meant to be, an answer or break will appear. Just remember, there are many sides to a mountain and many ways to climb it. If you get stopped, back off, regroup, and try another way. If you are still not successful, maybe it is not meant to be. Accept is as experience and go after something else for a while. If it is meant to be, having it on the backburner simmering for a while is not bad. It will pop up again, and the way to attain it will be there. Everything in its time. Your mother and I have done our best for you, and in return we expect at least that from you, for yourself, and your children.

I will be talking about a lot of things in no particular order. I won't always spell words right, or have the best sentence structure, but then, I am an electrical engineer, not an English major. As a matter of fact, English was my worst subject. I am going to try to write this just as if I'm talking to you face-to-face, any time you care to read this. All of the physical objects and things I have, we'll talk about. Your mother, Barbara, or your Aunt Harriet will keep for you until you are ready for them. If you don't think you will ever need some of them, or don't want some of them, don't waste them. Try to do something with them that you and your mother think I would do. Recycle them back into the world, for the world to use. Remember, after all, we are only the custodians for a while, and what is one man's junk is another man's treasure. Okay, so here I go. Enough of the preamble. If you are still with me, turn the page.

A place to start:

Well, Christopher, one of my actions that I regret most when I was a young man, sometimes in the late 1940s, I think, I was entrusted with my grandfather's straight razor by means of his last will and testament, and I carelessly misused it and broke it by trying to use it as a screwdriver. I found out later that my grandmother- grandfather Holloman had specifically wanted me to have it, because it had been very personal to me-him, and he wanted me to have something of his that had been very personal to him. Something that he had used every day. Well, I still have that broken razor of his, and I still carry the burden of carelessly, with no concern, breaking it. I knew that I would never use it to shave with, but it was my one personal bond with him, and I still feel like I betrayed his trust by carelessly and thoughtlessly misusing it and breaking it. Maybe that razor did have a purpose greater than anything my grandfather and I ever dreamed of, for it is because of my careless waste of my grandfather's razor that I am writing this open letter to you. I hope that you will not carelessly misuse, waste or destroy the value of the many things I have collected for you. Do not be in such a hurry to use, play, or work with these things. First, learn all about them, how to use them and enjoy them, their value, and how you can thoughtlessly--thoughtlessly (Chris pauses) waste their value, then enjoy them as I have.

For example, my very good stamp collection, or all the recorded popular music on cassette tape, VCR tapes and records. The oil paintings, United Nations art graphics, first of the issue covers, first LIFE covers, the complete set of the very valuable wrong first day issues of the United Nations covers. The musical movies I have collected for you on VCR tapes. My books on popular music, movies, entertainers, musical theater. Ship models, my day lilies, gazebo, and dreams.

As a boy, my greatest dream was to have inherited things from my mother, father, grandparents, etc. But alas, they were poor, and we were poor, and the things that we and they had didn't stay around long. I am a collector of things, even more than your mother. And when a boy, I always wished I had a stamp collection, or coin collection, or book collection, in a large old house from my grandparents. Well, I did end up with a few things which you will get from me. I have the Chandler family Bible from grandfather and grandmother Chandler, the graveyard par-plots from my grandfather Chandler and mother are buried, in (Chris pauses) Sylacauga, Alabama. A few books from my stepgrandmother, Holloman, and a few of my mother's sister's books. My father's picture album as a boy. My mother's picture album as a girl. My picture album as a boy.

A box of assorted pictures. A box of my mother's things, when she was a young girl, including her teddy bear she cut the hair off, thinking it would grow back. My baby clothes. All of my books, stamp collection, records, tapes, paintings, scout badges, trumpet, grandfather clock, my dreams for you, your mother, and other personal things. The things that are left from my parent's lives together and apart, except for the memories which I will try to write down in a separate document called "My Memoirs"."

Haven't found that document yet.

"My father had a second married life, much as I did, and just as you have half-brothers and half-sisters, I have a large number of half-brothers and sisters in which in Salem, North Carolina, where my father is buried. I have another notebook full, called "This Is My Working Life", which you might find interesting as to how I spent the forty two years of the working part of my life from high school graduation in 1945 to my retirement in 1987."

Another book I still haven't found yet.

"I have the first and only Scout handbook that belonged to my mother's half-brother, Dr. John James Holloman Jr.. This book started me on the road to becoming an Eagle Scout and a Scoutmaster. More about this in my memoirs. You will get this book as well as all of my Scout books, Scout badges, and my dreams for you as a Boy Scout."

[Chris sniffles]

And uh, last page here, umm not a part of this, uh, set, but anyway. Hm, just a few recollections apparently from GE.

"Bob Chandler, one of our GE pensioneers and former employee of General Electric Company here in Charlottesville has several children graduating from various schools around the state this spring in 1988. Bob's son, David Alan Chandler, graduated May 21st 1988 as a doctor of medicine from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. David Alan plans to do his internship at a hospital in Norfolk, Virginia and then do his specialization studies in ophthalmology in the Washington, D.C area."

[Chris sniffles again]

Excuse me a moment

[Chris sniffles again and grunts]

"Bob's daughter, Carol Suzanne Chandler, graduated from the University of Virginia on May 22nd, 1988, with a BA degree in Mathematics with distinction. She was accepted into the honor scholastic society Phi Beta Kappa by the University of Virginia and received the E.G. McShane prize in mathematics. She has been selected for advanced studies in mathematics this fall by Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University, University of Toronto, and the state University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island. Carol has selected the University of New York at Stony Brook on Long Island for her advanced studies."

And boy, this is old, this is from me when I was, just finished kindergarten.

"And Bob's other son-"

To be daughter.

"-Christopher Weston Chandler-"

To eventually be Christine Weston Chandler.

"-will graduate from kindergarten at Green County School in Standardsville, Virginia. He plans to continue his studies in 1st grade in the Green County School System while living at home with his mother and father."

Up to where we are today. And, uh, one last thing, uh, well this right here this last page here is just a short family tree my father wrote in his handwriting. Anyway, um, on this, he wrote theme music. Huh, apparently he wanted a theme song to go along with my work, a little note about Sonichu that he would have liked, but it's like-I didn't feel it was accurate but anyway I'll get to that in a moment-anyway the theme music--the Suite from the Three Oranges and in parentheses it says "Theme from FBI and Peace and War". Look that up, apparently that was a radio show, "FBI and Peace and War" and I'm guessin' this Suite from the Three Oranges was the theme song for that radio show. Anyway, so he writes on this, yeah

"August 18th, 2008

Dear Christian,

At this time in life, you and Sonichu need a quest and purpose in life."

As if Sonichu didn't already have a purpose already that I'd given him and...everybody else and everything. Uh, this is just, this is what he wanted, my father.

"Let Sonichu become a champion for autistic persons everywhere, and continually defeat the perils of autism."

Oh, good grief.

"Sonichu could become the spokesperson for autistic persons, with an ongoing fight for them in chapter after chapter, or good deeds on the internet. He could become the spokesperson from now on. You and Sonichu could become famous worldwide."

Then, just he, what, he drew this mini poster on the back. I mean just like look at this--*Chris holds up a drawing while laughing* innit that funny? Is that me? Is that me? Oh, Sonichu: Defender and Educator of Autistic Persons Everywhere, knocking out the big A. *Laughs* Oh, it's funny. He was a smart man, my father. Not everything as it would be, I mean Sonichu does not have autism, none of my Electric Hedgehog Pokemon have autism. And if any pops up in CWCville, definitely be sure to make note of it, that's a whole different-kettle-kettle of corn. I mean, the only autistic Pokemon I've made was the Grass/Psychic type Plautistic. I, it's on a trading card I made before but I don't have it on me right now, it's in my binder. Anyway, so, in memory of my father on his 90th birthday, read that for him, read that for y'all. Happy birthday mister Chandler, wherever you are.

[sigh]

And now, by special request, I still don't know all the lyrics but I'll sing the choiral verse

[Chris sings the chorus of 'Flawless' - a song from My Little Pony]

Anyway, that's it for now, and also tune in to the uh, Dream Lounge podcast, the Internet Dream Lounge podcast, as I have made that tweet on my Twitter about it. I was interviewed, hear me for, listen to me for about an hour and a quarter. Anway, that's it for now, this is Christine and *holds up a picture of Bob* Bob chandler singing out for now, have a great and safe day.