Saturday, June 14, 2008

Harry Stonefield is even cooler than Harry Potter

I'm in London right now, and was just at the National Portrait Gallery. I've been in London for a week, but I've been working about 11 hours every day, so this was my first just-for-fun adventure in England. As I left the gallery I saw some Harry Potter costumes. I have no idea why they would put Harry Potter costumes in the NPG other than the fact that Harry Potter is a BAMF, and it got me thinking about the other BAMF's I know in my life. Harry Stonefield may not have as big a fan base, but I've been listening to his stories since I was a little girl and they're even cooler...

For those of you who don't know me, I am Paige's little sister. Paige has been hounding me for months now to post on the blog to little avail. I have come up with a lot of things to talk about, but have continued to fail at finding the time to do it. I finally came up with a reason to post that even I'm willing to set aside time for... my Dad.

My Dad is an amazing person for a lot of reasons. He has a beautiful, fun, super-smart wife, he lives in on some of the best property I've ever seen, his dogs are great, his toys are really great, and his kids aren't half bad either [ ;^) ]. Not only has he had an immense amount of success in his personal life, but in addition he has been incredibly driven and successful in his career.

When I was a little girl my dad used to sit with my sister and me at bed time and tell us fantastic adventure stories about a cool kid named Harry Stonefield. He and I spent hours making up new things for Harry to do, and new stories altogether. I still use the 'Chipmunk Story' he and I came up with when I'm babysitting.

Things changed a little bit as I got older, we told less stories but had more of our own Big Red adventures, from Little Gasparilla to Put. Soon, Dad met another partner in crime, one Miss Julie Seligson, and before you knew it there was a new Redfield in the family. Together we got to explore Mexico, France, Quebec City and more.

When I started school at Georgia Tech, he supported me tremendously. He was by far the funnest Dad there at Phi Mu on parents' weekend. We walked past Fiji, and I got to hear some great college stories too. Later when I transferred to MIT, he helped me get set up - warm clothes, a space heater, a trip to the mall with tentative new friends. It was a huge comfort to know I had a Dad close by who was watching out for me.

As I've gotten older, he's always been there - a fun side to my serious one, a love of the outdoors to my book worm side, the voice of reason when classes get tough, a wonderful father to the daughters that adore him.

This summer I'm living in NYC and I got the chance to visit my Dad before I left for London. Mucking out the swimming hole, watching a fun movie, and eating fresh food from the garden - I may be a city girl but even I can see what a charmed life this is.

From England with Love,
Kit, Katie, Katherine, Kate, Iverson, Ivy, ... ahh you get the idea

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