markie d: : Tribute to my big brother, Karl Dahlin! 2.0

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Tribute to my big brother, Karl Dahlin! 2.0

This is my Pictorial Tribute to my big brother, Karl H. Dahlin, who passed away last Monday morning, APRIL 7th at 9:25 am. (I make sure to say that the time was specifically 9:25 am because those digits become very significant).

Karl was born on August 13th, 1948 at Saint Johns Hospital in Santa Monica, California (the second boy of the Dahlin tribe).

Mr. and Mrs. Dahlin, had one boy... then Karl...then another boy... then another boy... then another boy...

Five boys in a row - all about a year apart... (pictured from left to right) Karl, Kurt baby Erick with mom, Kris then Tony.

1955 - THEN IT HAPPENED: THE MIRACLE a Girl! YEAH! "We got one! We got one!"

Pictured from Right to Left are the boys in descending order in their John Travolta suits - wide collars (way before their time) Tony, Karl, Kris and Kurt. Erick, Mary and Mom centered

Jan 1956 - Here is Karl seen to the right at 7-years-old, being pulled in a wagon by big brother, Tony, at the new house at 925 Harding Ave in Venice.

From Left to Right Karl...Erick...Kurt...Kris...Tony(standing).
(Not pictured is Mary 1 year old)

Little did Karl know at this time that His mother was one month pregnant with another baby... due sometime in August!

August 13, 1956 - The blessed event happened on Karl's 8th Birthday. Mom brought home another boy and presented Karl with his birthday present...a baby brother, Mark!

Dec. 1956 - 4 months later here I am, the baby on the floor, and Karl (in the very back, LEFT) can't take his eyes off of his precious birthday present.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh.......

The next Christmas here we are again on year older.

from Right to Left

Kurt...KARL...Erick...Tony...Mary...Kris and Mark on the rocking horse!

Here we are in 1960ish with address on pillar of "Harding" house...925 (Pay no attention to the clothes I'm wearing in lower right hand corner), and look at handsome Dad and cute KARL, far left standing behind Mary.

Now for "All Saints Day" (same early 60's era)

Karl as First Pope

About the same time Karl (rear right - Tony, next to him, probably standing on tippy-toes).

Same time, entire gang in front of Harding house...Karin crawling on ground probably eating snails...(Karl looking down in concern - either for her or for the snails - not sure!).

Another Christmas goes by... Kurt and KARL

A year or two later sporting summer tans (probably just returned from one of our infamous excursion to either Kings River or a Salton Sea.

Order of appearance LEFT to RIGHT rear... KARL...Kurt...Tony (in back, probably standing on tippy-toes) Kris.

Front - Erick..Karin...Mary...Mark (and please don't look at the see through shirt) "ughhh!"

Karl at 13, the best looking of the bunch

This is about the time Karl brought home Bob from Saint Mark's school and he ends up staying and becoming part of our family.

Couple years later 1964-1965 Karl (center rear)
Tony definitely standing on Tippy-toes!

July 1964 just before heading out on one of our notorious family vacations to Salton Sea or to the Kings River.

Karl just before his 16th Birthday!

Pictured Left to Right KARL...dad, ("Mr. D" Carl with a 'C"who we called "daddio" at that time) Kris and his baby brother, Mark ahhhhhhhhhhhh!

Karl taught me how to fish...
Kurt...Karin...Karl...and Mark in sombrero

At Salton Sea 1965

Dad sleeping on the ground, Kris in front, Me flexing behind... Erick doing something... and who knows what KARL and Steve Smith were thinking!

The British Invasion: "The Four Mop-Tops i.e. The Beatles!

Hair starts to become an issue here is Karl on one of our infamous Saturday "Hair cutting days" not wanting his hair to be cut...It is a water shed event that paves the way for all of the long in Venice CA.

Karl single-handedly corrupts the Lennons and leads them down the path of all things, "long-hair" most notability Pat Lennon and Billy.

1973 Picture with entire family Including Bob and David and Lisa (don't forget Poochie) - by this time our dog is the only one with short hair!

Pictured Top row Left to Right Mr. D...Mark...Karin...Bob...Tony(definitely on Tip-toes) Erick and KARL

Mom with Lisa and David - Kurt with Poochie... Mary... Kris kneeling (bottom right)

1973ish, You can see one of Karl's boats in the background parked on the front lawn of 925 Harding

(above) Karl second from right!

Karl pictured far-left in front of old dead Christmas - tree and the Troop 32 Scout Bus

1973 - 1974

Karl and Tuna Canyon Crew

Mid 1970's Picture taken at Saint Mark's Hall

Family Siblings including Bob (LEFT to RIGHT) Erick...Karin...Kurt...Mary...Bob...Tony(sitting not on Tip-toes) ...Kris...Mark.. and KARL far right!

A couple years later, Mom with all the siblings (along with Pinky Parlett and Irma)

All ten of us with Irma

End of the 70's Karl front Left.

Late 90's (reunion) all the natural born boys in order from LEFT to RIGHT

Tony...KARL...Kris...Kurt...Erick...Mark

Four Brothers 2007 in Utah

Tony (kneeling) Mark (background) Kris... and KARL to far right!

Our family at my mother's memorial service August 2009

Karl in his element with our "Real Family" at the 2013 Harding Avenue Reunion at Donny's House:
Blasers
Dahlins
Lennons
Charlie
Rita
Koz ..etc...etc...

Karl (front bottom third from left)

A recent picture I took of Karl, this past July (at Donny Blaser's house) just before his 65th birthday.

My big brother was very special to me (of course, since I was his birthday present) Karl was extremely bright...and very talented. He greeted me at my birth and I had the chance to be with him at his peaceful passing...interesting enough, on Monday morning at 9:25am.

He made custom built cabinets for the remodel at the kitchen for 925 Harding ave... As a craftsman he did work at Bob Dylan's house and I remember when he brought back a pair of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's shoes from the custom work he did there. He did work at Cheech Marin's house (of Cheech and Chongs).

Karl could do anything he set his mind to and taught me how to make 90 degree cuts without a T-Square - I still can't figure out how he did it.

Beside a rich fishing legacy...Karl leaves behind three children: David (Married to Malyn - two grandsons Westin and Waylin and one on the way), son Michael and Daughter Karlee...

...in addition to Janet... 5 or 6 brothers, two sisters...and a bazillion nieces and nephews.

Karl you are loved...I will miss you!

(your birthday present) Baby Brother... Mark

10 comments:

Cheryl Arnold MoseleyApril 13, 2014 at 5:45 PM
Dear Mark and the Dahlin family,
My deep condolences for your loss. Although I don't know if we ever met in person, I was your close neighbor, not on Harding, but directly behind you, at 930 Venice Blvd....right across the alley. My father was Dr. W.T. Arnold, the blind Chiropractor. My grandparents and parents lived there since the late 1930's, before I was born. Our paths just never crossed, since we always exited our home on the Venice Blvd side. It is strange to think that we were so close, and yet, so far away. I went to Roosevelt Elementary, and you all went to St. Mark's. I just want to say that I'm sorry for your loss, and that I'm thinking of you all. I just happened to be in Venice last week for our Venice High 50th class reunion. I drove down Harding and thought of you all. Now, looking back, I think it was the day your brother Karl died. God bless your family. From Cheryl Arnold Moseley
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Markie dApril 14, 2014 at 11:04 AM
That is Amazing Cheryl... thank you for the kind words and the two pictures you posted on Facebook! Later in my blog I'll share the story about the apartment building they built on your family's lot and how we almost burnt it down on July 4th, and about how we managed to rescued it...
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mamahobbsApril 14, 2014 at 12:59 PM
Mark the love and memories your family has shared through all the years will be something to hold onto.. With the passing of Karl it has left a hole in your clan and will be felt for a long time.. Karl touched many people's lives. On your birthday now Mark you will have someone special watching over you... My heart hurts for you and your family.. Jonesy xxx
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Tony DahlinVeniceJuly 12, 2017 at 10:55 PM
Thank you for the memories and the motive to digress
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Tony DahlinVeniceJuly 12, 2017 at 10:55 PM
Thank you for the memories and the motive to digress
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Tony DahlinVeniceOctober 2, 2017 at 8:37 PM
I met someone today who is interested...
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Tony DahlinVeniceOctober 2, 2017 at 8:38 PM
I met someone today who is interested...
ReplyDelete
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No Other Family Like Ours - seriously

WHAT OTHER FAMILY IN THE WORLD let all of the monkeys out of the Zoo, been pranked by the sitting President of the United States in a rouge encounter, chased in cities, chased out of cities and chased down by the cops. Who in their right mind voluntarily electrocute themselves just for fun and dared to electrify the nuns around the corner—who neither volunteered nor had fun? WHAT OTHER FAMILY has had more broken bones, pulled more pranks, have had a plethora of runaway rattlesnakes and other large reptiles terrorize their neighborhood. WHAT OTHER FAMILY grew Mexican Tomato plants that never grew tomatoes and had leaky boats that refuse to float or Escaped death more times? Who had cars on blocks, trucks as trash barges and flowerbeds sprouting rusted bikes, mislaid sparkplugs and abandoned carburetors instead of flowers? Meet the DAHLINS

And to think we survived and came out normal—well, mostly.

The Truimph of Overcoming

I use the word dysfunction with deliberate intention and with great respect in serving the main point of this blog. In the wild ramblings of a kid I ruminate on the idea that my family was not just dysfunctional but was the “most dysfunctional family” on the planet—that’s the set up.

As I look to the other “normal” plain-wrap families next door and across the street that had tidy yards and flowerbeds believing that the grass is greener on the other side (well the grass was greener), it shouldn’t shock anyone to realize that there is dysfunction in all of us—often times masked by tidy lawns and clean exteriors. Along with joy, success and adventure, life is filled with disappointment, failure, pain, and betrayal from those who have let us down. This is what it means to be human. I admit that I faced some disappointment in trying to fit in and longed for acceptance as the youngest boy of our wolf pack, but in large part I can honestly say that I had more fun and more adventure, in what I would call a happy childhood—despite the numerous broken bones. Yet, I would be remiss if I did not brag a bit and say, “Yeah, but...Look at all the great stories.”

Though, I dig deep into the mind and explore the full range of emotions of this young kid who felt detached, wondered about his existence, about his place in the family and his connection to the universe—He came out okay.

The older Markie D loves his brothers and sisters and holds no grudges.

Markie D has found this elusive connection to the universe and is well adjusted—and yes, still a little bit crazy. He has been married for 34 years to an amazing artist, Kerry, and has four incredibly gifted and talented adult children.

Oh, BTW… He mows his lawn, parks a car in the garage and has flowers in the flowerbeds and desires boats that float and less adventure in every outing and more "plain-wrap."

May you find your connection to the universe that brings healing, wholeness, forgiveness and a sense of hope as you look to your future.

Not too long ago on a pale blue dot, third from the sun, people and events converged in the space/time continuum that would forever change the course of history. The setting is a huge Victorian home that slightly leaned on its crumbling foundation, groaning under the weight of unruly kids and hoards of junk. In the era of Ozzie and Harriet and Father’s Knows Best, I was born into a family dysfunction of epic proportions. This decrepit masterpiece in Venice would rival the Addams Family’s house, and the cast of characters would prove to be more incredible and wacky than The Munsters. The big problem was that I was the seventh born, the youngest boy and the runt of the litter.

To have 10 in a family in our catholic neighborhood was underachieving. To compete with the larger families, my mom gladly took in strays. The official-nonofficial count was more in the neighborhood of 14 ―mostly boys and all older than me.

All sibling rivalry and mischief flowed downhill and ended up on my platter, whether I had any say in the matter or not. For fun, we held on to the live wires that were left hanging out of a wall from a unfinished remodel. We were the only family I knew who voluntarily electrocuted themselves with 110 volt household current, and are the only family in the history of the world to single-handedly let all of the monkeys out of the LA zoo. We got chased out of cities; pursued by the Highway Patrol; and sought after by the entire Needles California Police force. Wherever we went, we made a spectacular splash which usually ended up on the front page of the local newspaper.

After being buried in pits, caged, hunted, left behind and electrocuted, I somehow managed to survive my childhood but felt numb, disconnected and alone although part of a big family. In college while searching for acceptance and connection, I experienced an event that would alter the course of my life. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Communications. I coached water polo and swimming at Saint Monica’s my High School Alma Mater and enjoyed major success in investment real estate. After a financial crisis, I committed myself to serving in ministry, working with Youth and Family, as an associate pastor of a large church in Southern California. I graduated with a Masters at the top of my class from Azusa Pacific Graduate School of Theology and was ordained a licensed Pastor.

I am married to an avid artist and have four children: three boys and a girl who takes after her mother’s creativity.

Currently, I am a senior Pastor of a church in Roseville, CA, and adjunct Professor of Biblical Studies at a Bible college, and live in Sacramento with my wife and daughter.

markie d:

'72 swim team

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Tribute to my big brother, Karl Dahlin! 2.0

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