Happy July 4th - But It's Still Throwback Thursday!

© Leigh Prather

by Skip Cohen

It's the Fourth of July, and as I went to post today, I was thinking about taking the whole day off, just like most Americans. Then it occurred to me that a holiday is a great time to appreciate a look back and since I seem to have developed an unlimited supply of throwback photographs why not share one and then enjoy the day.

To start, I wish everybody a happy July 4th and time to kick back and enjoy family, friends, fireworks, and the traditional opportunity to over-eat barbecue!  And, since Independence Day is all about establishing our freedom as Americans going back to 1776, it's a perfect time to appreciate friends and family in the military who have helped preserve that continued freedom. To all of you involved in protecting the freedom we all enjoy, thank you for your service!

Now, since it's Throwback Thursday, I recently discovered a box of discs with hundreds of memories of past events in my life and the industry. Today's combines a little of both.

Sheila and I were married in 2010. We initially thought about a backyard wedding and finally decided to get married and then throw a party, mostly for local friends, a month or two later. 

Somewhere in the process of getting ready, a good buddy came into town...Gary Blair. He didn't get to see much of Ohio on that trip because he was helping me slow-cook a dozen slabs of ribs on the grill that day, but what a kick to get a quality of time together we'd never before shared.

Most of my time over those years before was spent with Gary's Dad, "Big Daddy," Don Blair. While Don was on the road as one of the industry's most recognized educators, Gary was running the business back in Murray, Utah. 

To this day, I still run into people whose senior headshot from high school was captured by Don Blair Photography. Well, the company had Don's name on the door, but so much of the photography that kept the business going for many years was thanks to Gary and his team. He's a pretty amazing photographer in his own right!

The time he and I got in Ohio was the first time we'd ever really spent together just kicking back. And obviously, we laughed a lot. To this day, the stories that get us smiling the quickest are always related to events involving his Dad, as we both do a pretty decent job of a Don Blair impression.

Wishing everybody an enjoyable and safe July 4th holiday and to Gary, in a deep voice as his Dad would say, "Hey, hey, hey - I love ya man!"

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