After blogging for the last 6 months I found that I was struggling to find my niche. For awhile I blogged about social media marketing which is something that I am interested in. Then for awhile I blogged about life after college since I'm a recent graduate of Clark University! Still, as much as I was passionate about these things, something just wasn't working. I knew that I didn't want to just blog about my day, having an online diary just isn't my thing (not that there is anything wrong with that). I love crafts and baking, so having a craft blog seemed interesting but I don't have the time or money to bake or craft something unique every week (although I wish I could!) Then it came to me...People, Places, Things. Bam! That's it.
Here's the plan: Every Wednesday I will blog about people, places or things that are of interest. Sounds lame? Well...it's not. I'm also open to suggestions, if you have a person, place or thing you'd like me to research and blog about it'd be my pleasure!
Now that that's out of the way, let's begin!
Malcolm McCann
Although he isn't famous, Malcolm McCann is a person to know. He is one of the kindest, funniest most genuine people I know and I am proud to call him my Dad. In honor of this past Father's Day I'd like to tell you a little bit about my own Father.
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| McCann clan, Malcolm is the little one on his Dad's lap |
Born on July 21, 1944 in Montreal, Canada, Malcolm was the baby of eleven! As one can imagine, with such a large family there was always something going on. Since Malcolm was the baby, he knew many of his younger siblings a little better than the older ones since many of the older ones were married and out of the house. The 10th child was David. David and Malcolm were incredibly close, however, being the baby Malcolm took his orders from David. As Malcolm tells it, David had a knack for finding trouble.
There is one story from my Dad's childhood that has stuck with me. Although he's not exactly proud of it, I find it absolutely hilarious and it gives a pretty good idea what Malcolm's childhood was like. Malcolm can tell this story much better than I can, but for this post I'll give it my best shot!
When Malcolm was about 8 years old and his brother David was about 10 David and Malcolm decided it would be cool to build a clubhouse. Being the ring leader, David summoned the neighborhood kids and told them of their plan to build a boys only club house. Everyone was extremely excited, but being kids, and being from a poor neighborhood no one had any money for supplies. They had hammers but no wood so the boys set out to find some. After wandering the neighborhood they came across wooden crates behind a convent. Making sure no one was looking, the boys took the crates and ran to someones house to disassemble the crates in order to build their clubhouse. Finally, after lots of hard work the clubhouse was finished. For the next few days the boys would hold meetings. One day there was a knock on the door of the McCann household. Malcolm's Mother Theresa opened the door and there stood a nun. The nun informed her that there wooden crates had recently gone missing and that they had received word that Malcolm and David were the culprits and that they would not get the boys in trouble as long as they returned the wood within the next day. That night David called a final meeting in the clubhouse. Before the meeting started, David told Malcolm something very ominous. David told Malcolm to sit right next to the door and that as soon as he blew the candle out to immediately run and don't stop until he got home. Malcolm knew something was up, but he just didn't know what. Later that night, once all the boys were in the clubhouse David began the meeting. He informed them that this would be there last meeting and that the next morning they would have to take the clubhouse apart and return the wood. As the meeting began to wind down, David spontaneously blew out the candle, and on cue Malcolm jumped up and bolted out, all the way home hearing screams and protests emanating from the club house.
The next day as Malcolm and David were taking apart the clubhouse, Malcolm asked his brother what had happened the night before. Apparently David suspected that one of the neighborhood boys had told his parents about the club house and the stolen wood and that is how the nuns found out. Furious, but not knowing who the snitch was, David decided to get back at all the boys. The reason he had wanted Malcolm to run away was because as soon as he blew out the candle he had then proceeded to pull down his pants and pee on everyone! Good ol' fashioned fun...you gotta love it!
When Malcolm was 14 his family moved to Santa Monica, California. Malcolm immediately discovered that sunny California was for him, submerging himself in the culture. The Beach Boys could be described as the soundtrack to his life. A surfer by day and drummer by night (his stage name was Flash too...) Malcolm has always known how to have a good time and not to take anything too seriously.
This blog is going on longer than expected, but with 67 years under his belt, there's quite a bit to say! If you are still reading this I'll cut this short by saying that Malcolm McCann
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| Dad and I |
Happy Father's Day Dad! I love you!
Song of the week: The Beach Boys--Wouldn't It Be Nice (The Girls Can Hear Us Remix)
My mother, Helen, was the oldest in the McCann family. So here I am 59 years old, 8 years younger than your father and yet your cousin. For me, it was so cool to have 2 uncles and an aunt almost my age.Ann was more like a sister than an Aunt. David and Malcolm were like older brothers. You indicated that David was the troublemaker, however I can tell you many stories about your father that would disagree:)Ask him about the time the police arrived at the door of his home in Verdun Quebec to ask if owned a bb gun? Nice shot Malcolm.
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I always get confused...Is Eleanor or Maureen Helen? I know one of them changed their name. Yeah, It's crazy how with such a big family some of the cousins are way older and some of the aunts and uncles are younger than the cousins etc. I'm sure my dad was the trouble maker too, I believe he has told me the story about the bb gun. I'm pretty sure David and Dad egged each other on lol.
ReplyDeleteMaureen was born Esther.. Eleanor was born Helen..I was thinking of changing my name but David was such a special person that it would have been disrespectful.notice there are some more David's in the family because he was so well respected..I wonder how his widow Joan is doing in Florida..she was wonderful. I fell in love with her when I was 10
ReplyDeleteCassandra, I respect how you've grown. I am proud of you just as Auntie Virginia would be! We need to connect more!
ReplyDeleteMalcolm was born in 44?!?!
ReplyDeleteI loved Joan too! I was pretty little when David died, but he was one of my favorite uncles. After Joan moved to Florida my parents lost touch with her. I hope she's doing well though.
ReplyDeleteHaha Yup, Malcolm was born in 44. I always remember that because that was the year WWII ended. When I say it like that though it makes him sound super old! But he looks and acts younger than most 40 year olds I know.