Jack Dinkmeyer:
CLASS OF 1954
St. Charles High SchoolClass of 1954
St. charles, MO
University Park Elementary SchoolClass of 1947
Denver, CO
Jack's Story
A native of Colorado, Jack and lovely wife, Diane, live in Aurora, a suburb of Denver. A second marriage for both, Diane has 3 children--two boys and a girl--now grown with families of their own. Giving Diane 4 grandchildren: Joseph (military); Sarah (high school); Tatiana (college); and Raphel (high school).
Sadly, Cameron (who was the oldest) passed at the age of 13 from a brain tumor. He would have been 24 this year and well into his career. He is still sorely missed.
Jack has no children.
Schools Jack attended and degrees earned:
University Park Elementary {Denver};
Lincoln Elementary School {St. Charles};
St. Charles Junior High;
St. Charles High School;
Lindenwood University (BA, Drama);
University of Denver (MA, Mass Media);
University of Denver (Ph.D, Communications Theory and Practice)
From Jack:
Now retired, I spent over 50 years in the film industry writing, producing, directing, and editing documentaries, commercials, and multi-media productions. My talented crew and I had a ball. And in the process, produced lots of great award-winning stuff!
Still active, I published a guide: "The First Time You See Paris"--having spent three years in that city. It still gets play from potential visitors to Paris. But alas! I'm still screwing around with that novel about Vietnam, "Warriors Butterfly"; So much so that the YouTube course,
"Fundamentals of Motion Picture Production" has become victim of the retiree's lament:
"We'll try to get it done today. But if not, maybe tomorrow."
A friend who teaches film at a southern California college is anxious I finish and has offered to help.
Jack's Personal Note:
Although retired, planning ones's activities seems the only way to utilize time more efficiently. That is, ensure that which we want to do actually gets done. And so, I've purchased a small, wheeled filing cabinet, moving it, laptop, and other essential paraphernalia (cell phone, tablet, etc.) to the great room upstairs where is located my editing suite and desk--as well as another TV and another fireplace. Each noon, I head upstairs for several hours to accomplish demands of our everday lives, as well as finishing a novel, developing a video about film/video production, and categorizing tons of pictures/slides. In summer, the covered dining patio's outside large table becomes my office.
Very pleasant. This isn't as sterile as it seems. Just a way of utilizing hours more effectively. Naturally, fun stuff like day-trips, travel, visiting, dining out, and activities associated with everyday living are still part of the equation.
Last winter the weather Gods were stingy about snowing on Denver, as has become the norm. But they weren't stingy about, the mountains, which got killed with tons of the white stuff. So far this winter, dribbles of snow "storms" seemed to promise déja vu all over again. However, a few Sundays ago the weather Gods finally produced a decent blizzard. ABOUT TIME!! Not great! But a decent 8 inches at our Aurora home. Up to a foot in cities north of us. Several feet throughout the mountains.
And wonder of wonders! The weather Gods did it again about a week ago--another decent blizzard! About 10 inches--acceptable! But still not like the 20-inch Denver-closing-blizzard dumps we used to get.
In our backyard, the shadow of the house prevents Father Sun melting the largess of white, which only finally disappears when winter temperatures get above 60 for a week or so (yes, we do have warm winter days) and slowly dissolve snow into grass and garden. This time, it almost approached being fun to shovel the heavy stuff off driveway and sidewalk. (As much, that is, as my 82-years can stand.) Even with lots more snow, summer watering will probably still continue to be controlled by cities and limited to 3 days each week in the hottest weather. City Fathers/Mothers love doing that kind of stuff. (Please note how I recognized the increasing role of women in politics.!!)
This winter has been a particularly cold one--not as bad as the midwest and east--but bad enough. The many earlier 60-70 degree days punctuating weeks throughout fall and early winter are now conspicious by their absence--which brings up the obvious question: how hot will be coming summer days? At least when it really gets hot in Colorado, humidity drops to 10%-5%. .
As spring approaches, Diane and I are planning another journey on two more newly recently opened light rail ...Expand for more
lines added to the six light rail lines already going to and circling Denver, Golden, DIA airport, and Boulder. We also won a free week's cruise of our choosing. Both of us are stuck for a place to go for 7 days, I'm suggesting Cuba. Several friends toured Cuba and describe it as a time warp stuck in the 50s. We're still "discussing" it. I answered Diane's question as to whether our gracious, esteemed president had banned travel into a Communist state--with, "no, I don't think so". At least not so far. However, with this "on again off again" president, it pays to keep abreast of ever changing developments.
At this writing, we're in February. This year my birthday (April) enlarges my life span to 83, more's the pity. I've tried everything to reverse the trend back to age 23 and severely hungover.
But, OH FUDGE!! (Boy! Did I clean that up!!)
All I could muster is the hangover part--and no longer even that severe.
This year we've resolved to take more day-trips to the mountains--the few places we've not been to. And then only during weekdays!. (See notes somewhere in this missive about the God-awful traffic now a permanent part of the Colorado landscape--both in cities and in the mountains.) Normally, I bring sandwich fixings, salad, and in thermos bottles--hot soup, tea and lemonade. (And a veggie or two if Diane makes me.) Along with blankets and rainware. In the mountains the every-summer afternoon mountain thunderstorms can occur anywhere between 1 P.M. and 6 P.M. After which, it's again sunny and warm--if a bit soggy.
Those who consider mountains tranquil and beautiful are setting themselves up for some unpleasant surprises. Keeping a wary eye on weather is just good sense--weather above 10,000 feet is completely different than weather at sea level and above (up to about 4,000 feet.) Even pilots use oxygen above 10,500 feet.
Meaning, in Colorado, it's easy to hike excellent trails all the way to the summits of fourteeners--which are mountains taller than 14,000+ feet. That's where weather can really get nasty and dangerous. In 2018, several people went missing and were later found at the bottom of some precipice or other.
Once when on a mountain film-shoot hair on my arms, neck, and head began standing straight up and itching like crazy. I immediately recognized the symptoms. We had wandered squarely into the middle of a lightning / thunderstorm. Down to timber we immediately went as fast as we could. (In Colorado, timberline is 11,200 feet--beyond which, trees no longer can grow--meaning, what made it so dangerous was that we were the tallest things on that mountain, since trees had disappeared far below.) The last thing we needed was to be struck by lightning--easily possible since we were surrounded by the flashing stuff--not above us, but all around us..
Diane's and my health are as good as is possible for our ages. But we still added two more doctors to our ever growing list of medical professionals. This time, a new dentist and oral surgeon. Our list of medical professionals continues to expand, whilst our list of friends keeps shrinking--although this year, not so much. Not Yet, Anyway.
Somewhere I read (online, perhaps) that 2019 is our class' 65th-year-celebration of our 1954 graduation. So far I haven't seen a formal invitation or even any recognition of the event. I remember being invited to the 10th anniversary. I missed it, being on a night film-shoot. But I did attend the 35th where I barely recognized anyone!
In May we head to Virginia for the graduation and induction into the Army of Joseph, who--it seems, about a week ago--was a fun little boy of 5 playing with my trains.
Then it's time devoted to Diane's daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter, Sarah, who now has a driver's license and can chauffeur us hither and yon. Because I never had children, I'm deaf, dumb, and blind about how rapidly they are transformed into adults. Along with everything else having to do with that which involves children.
Didn't seem so fast when I was the one growing up.
Time to end this tome with my eternal closing. At this point in life--with the finish line just over the next hill--I remain absolutely stunned about how fast it all went.
From a French author--François Villon (1533)--of whom I became aware during my years in France:
"Où sont les neiges d’anten?" (Where are the snows of yesteryear?)
Be well. Do good. Stay above the grass.
Jack
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