Jon: Meet Freddy 10…

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

 33.) “Aug. 1986. Our three boys, Jonathan, Freddy, and Ryan.”

(Gaycondo side note: That’s me and my brother. I’m on the left.)

 34.) “Grandma likes to hug Freddy. Do you like to be hugged? Go hug Momma, Daddy, and Brother.”

 35.) “Freddy says, ‘Let me get up there also’. All-bran and Cheerio says ‘no’.”

36.) “Freddy has a little sister now. Her name is Fredericka. We like to call her Ricky. Grandma thinks it is nice that Freddy has someone to play with.”

Jon: Meet Freddy 9…

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

28.) “Freddy packed his suitcase. He would like to make a trip. Can he come and see you?”

29.) “Three strikes you’re out. Freddy likes to play ball. Grandma is the pitcher and Grandpa is the catcher.”

30.) “Freddy doing what little boys do.”

31.) “Freddy trying to get Darland’s attention (Grandpa’s).”

32.) “Andy is sitting in Freddy’s chair. He is telling him about how to plant and grow watermelon.”

Jon: Meet Freddy 8…

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

24.) “Do you know that this is Grandpa? He told Freddy that it was too cold for him to help deliver the papers.”

25.) “Freddy said ‘I can draw a picture.’ Look what he drew. Do you like to draw?”

26.) “Andy came over to play with Freddy. He let Freddy wear his fireman hat. Freddy will let him sit in his chair next.”

27.) “Grandpa and Freddy think it is funny for Freddy to put Grandma’s bra on his head.”

Jon: Meet Freddy 7….

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

21.) ” ‘Merry Christmas to everyone!’ says Freddy. He wonders what is in the pretty box. Do you know?”

22.) “Grandpa and Freddy made a snowman. Do you think he looks like Grandpa? Freddy is so tired.”

23.) “Freddy likes to play hide and seek when it is too cold to play outside. Look! Grandpa found him. ‘There you are.’ “

Jon: Meet Freddy 5…

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

15.) “Freddy has a hard hat. If a wrench is dropped over his head it will hit the hard hat and not hurt him”

16.) “Freddy likes to climb Grandma’s big tree. He might fall and hurt himself. Get down Freddy!”

17.) “Freddy was told that the sign said that he could not go swimming in the lake. He knows that he should do what the sign says.”

Jon: Meet Freddy 3…

To find out exactly who Freddy is, check out the first post of the series here.

To see all of the posts, click the link in the bar to the right.

9.) “Grandma likes to read to Freddy a bed time story. Do you like to listen while someone reads to you?”

10.) “All little bears like their honey,

And carrots are for the bunny.

But if a little bear gives you his Valentine heart,

Oh wouldn’t that be sunny?”

11.) “Grandpa and Freddy would like to show you Grandpa’s red roses. They are two year’s old. Grandpa is not mad at Freddy for picking his roses.”

Jon: Meet Freddy 2….

Part 2 of my Grandma Shirley Tabor’s Freddy photograph project from the mid 8o’s. To get the full story, see the first post here.

5.) “Freddy wants to know where is the turkey? He doesn’t want to eat this chicken or the blue bird.”

6.) “Freddy is being real good so Santa will bring him a nice Christmas present. Are you being good?”

7.) “Freddy is wearing a New Year hat. He wants to stay up until after twelve O’ clock. Happy New Year.“

8.) “Freddy would float away if he wasn’t inside the house. We better not open the outside door.” (sorry for the bad scan- Jon)

 

Jon: Meet Freddy…

 

I am currently in the process of developing a new website called Meet Freddy. It is an ode to an amazing woman named Shirley Tabor, or as I knew her, Grandma Tabor. She was a painter, cartoonist, craftmaker and photographer who lived out her life in Coffeyville Kansas. Her work was never shown in a gallery, printed in a magazine, or sold at auction. Students do not write essays about her in college or debate the hidden meanings lurking in the images she created. In fact, as far as I am aware, no one outside of my family has ever seen any of it.

However, she inspired me deeply and was the first person to ever tell me that I was capable of creating something beautiful. I believe that she is largely responsible for making me the creative person I am today.

“But who is Freddy then?” you ask. He is a bear. Not a real one, but a stuffed animal one that stands about three feet tall. His origins are unknown to me, but I do know that something about him inspired my Grandma in the 1980’s to create a small world around him. When she passed away about six years ago she left me the small crocheted box pictured above. Inside were 50 photographs and several poems.  Each photograph was numbered and on the reverse was a hand written description of the image. Picture by picture a story was born.

So yeah. This box is my prized possession. If my house were on fire, it would be the first thing I would grab. Until recently, it had never occurred to me that I would ever have a forum in which I could share her work. Then I got this blog and learned a (very) little bit about webpage design.

So, I am going to make an awesome page that at first is about Freddy, but will eventually feature all of her art. Until then though, I am too excited to not share the pictures with all you Gaycondo readers. So, every week I will post a couple of them along with the words written on the back.

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1.) “Grandpa Tabor found a lost teddy bear in the woods. He took him home to Grandma Tabor.”

2.) “Grandma Tabor named the teddy bear Freddy. Freddy likes to sleep on the back of Grandma’s bed”

3.) “Freddy wanted to be the Easter bunny. He said, ‘don’t you look until I get the eggs hid!’ Look at his tail.”

4.) “Freddy is dressed like a ghost. He thinks that the kids do not know who he is. Can you tell? Do ghosts have bear’s ears?”