The Plaid Pladd

My dad wrote this post after unearthing some embarrassing things from my past!–PLadd

After Robin’s Guest Blog was posted a few months ago, I figured it was inevitable that I would get the communications from Patricia that it was my turn to author a guest blog.  Patricia gave me some ideas, like what I am going to be doing in retirement, but none of them seemed like they would be of particular interest to the great volume of devoted readers of her blog.  I wondered what would be of interest to the blog’s readers (and also to me), and I decided upon a review of some of the artifacts of being Dad Ladd, which I have kept over the years.  Some of this was motivated by finding some “art” produced by Patricia and Thomas when they were very young, while I came across when cleaning out the 20-year accumulation of items from my office when I retired last month.

So those of you who have been subjects of some of Patricia’s writings over the years (Tamiami Times, Wiess Cabinet minutes, etc.) will recognize in the following samples the evolving wit and insightful observations for which Patricia became renowned in her later writings.  Unfortunately for me, I was generally the only person providing her material for her style of expression during those early years, so many of these examples are not so complementary to me.  [Mom Ladd comment:  If you were not such a doofus, Patricia would not have had so much material for these.]  As she went out into the world, many more people provided her material and I tended to get off easier.  (And maybe I did not look so bad by comparison.)

{One note here – Patricia was frequently called Tricia or Trishe in her younger days and this name shows up in some of these examples.}

So on to what you really want – Plaid PLadd original material.

Maybe this video of Patricia, when she was 2.33 years old, provides some subconscious justification for some of her comments below.  (Certainly it could not be my characteristics and actions.)

This item was pretty early on, before the written portions and my characteristics started to dominate the items which I received from her.

This looks like a kindergarten or 1^st grade assignment to draw and write about herself and her family.  Interesting title, already knew how to throw around the “big” words.

At this age she already knew what she liked and what she wanted to do.  (Teacher is pretty close to Children’s Librarian for this age.)

Patricia was pretty good at getting us to do things.  She even had a T shirt that said “SLAVE MISTRESS”.

One of the most creative things Patricia dreamed up occurred when she was probably in kindergarten or 1^st grade.  One afternoon I was at work and Mom Ladd was tutoring in the dining room, which was away from the front door of the house.  Mom Ladd heard a knock at the front door, and Patricia said she would get it.  Mom Ladd did not hear anything more about this until after the tutoring session had ended, and she asked Patricia who was at the door.  Patricia said that this woman was at the door and she came into the house, going up to the master bedroom to leave a note for Dad on the bed.  Mom Ladd was pretty sure nobody had come into the house, so she was pretty curious about this “note”.

Patricia was all excited because she was pretty sure she would get to see her Dad in trouble with Mom over this kissing incident.  (Patricia – having my back.)  It became better when Patricia started writing stories; she had an outlet for her creativity that did not involve getting her Dad into trouble.

Here is a father’s day card from a little later that demonstrates Patricia’s developing writing style.

Mom Ladd IS a lot better, and Patricia already has a pretty high opinion of herself.

This looks like a school assignment, where Patricia felt she needed to be honest.

Then I started getting letters.  In this one Patricia really knows how to punish me where it hurts.

Thomas must have had some part in getting Patricia so “excited”, and she took it out on undeserving me.  (Wonder from where the vocabulary came?   Must be from the many books Patricia was reading, certainly not something she heard from me.)

As she got older Patricia got more sophisticated in her comments, if not her drawings.  Always looking out to help her Dad strive to be a “ZZ Top Sharp Dressed Man”.
 

But somewhere around middle school (reference to the history and geography education at the time) Patricia seems to have generally had enough other people to observe that I did not come off so badly.

Based on the date of the files, the below web page that is a retrospective look by Patricia from late high school.  I’m the picture example for “laugh at the stupidity of others”, so maybe I have not quite yet gotten to be brilliant in her estimation, at least not yet.

Sometimes a trial, but always a pleasure and very interesting – being Dad Ladd to Patirica Renee Ladd.

 

Bonus Addendum

While not written by Patricia, here is a middle school project by Thomas that indicates what Patricia was somewhat like in high school.