“For Vista veteran, designing is an obsession and a tribute to the troops” |
| For Vista veteran, designing is an obsession and a tribute to the troops Posted: 23 Sep 2010 01:23 PM PDT VISTA ---- Whether it's a deck of Marine Corps playing cards or an "American Heroes" coffee mug ---- his latest project ---- when Al Davis gets started, he can't rest until he's done. The mug, for example, began with an American flag in the background, then the military seals and a few pieces of trivia worked into the design; the finished product, colorful and symmetrical, is the result of several months of slaving over a computer. "What this does is honor all members of the armed forces who ever served since the beginning of the campaign in Afghanistan in 2001, through 2011, when they're supposed to be drawing down," Davis said on Wednesday, cradling one of the mugs in his hands. "Now, I know they're going to make a liar out of me, but that's OK." As a Vietnam veteran and 10-year member of the Marine Corps, Davis, 62, said he'd never had an art class in his life when the images started coming to him one night a few years ago. "The first time it happened, it scared me so bad I thought I was having panic attacks," he said. "I went over to the computer, and all of a sudden I was flooded with all of these ideas ---- I got into my graphics program, and they were coming so fast I could hardly get them down. Two and a half years later, when I stopped, this is what came out." He held up two decks of playing cards. Each one had a unique design and a brief list of names. Together, the decks listed the names of 692 Marines killed in Iraq. Davis said he has sent samples of his work to a variety of television personalities, and even sent a pair of mugs to Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ---- "one for him, and one for him to present to the Commander-in-Chief," President Barack Obama. "Never heard anything back," Davis said, clearly disappointed. His reaction to being ignored by the White House and Oprah Winfrey, among others, does not seem to be personal. Rather, he views his work as a tribute to the country's troops, and the rejection of his work as an affront to fighting men and women. "This is bigger than Admiral Mullen. This is bigger than Barack Obama," Davis said. "This is about the troops. This is bigger than any individual. You don't see my logo on this cup, because it's not about me. "Now, my Mama always told me, when I was a kid, if somebody takes the time to give you something, at least you say thank you. Even if you didn't like it," he said. "If it was just something for me, that would be one thing. But this is about the troops." Davis sells his memorabilia through his self-made website, www.fallenwarriorscards.com, and at an Oceanside store, Frame Design, which does a lot of military business, such as engraving award plaques. The store's owner, Jeanine Ferry, said many of her Marine Corps customers comment on the row of Davis' mugs that she keeps on the counter. "A month or two will go by, and here he comes with something new in his hands," Ferry said. Davis declined to discuss the financial aspects of his design business, but he has sent a letter with a sample mug to Starbucks CEO Alan Davis pitching him on carrying Davis' patriotic handiwork. "I'm doing this on Social Security and my disability check," he said. "I'm putting the boxes together, I put the labels on the boxes, I do shipping, I do any design work, I'm keeping the website up." And all for his love and respect of the troops. "That job is tough ---- people don't understand how tough that job is," he said of the fighting currently under way in Afghanistan. "They're living in mud holes, they're eating MREs that are cold, they're getting bitten by all kinds of bugs, exposed to all kinds of diseases. "I don't care if this never goes anywhere ---- at least if I see a Marine or a sailor, I can hand him one of these mugs and say, 'Thank you.'" Contact Tom Pfingsten at fallbrooktown@gmail.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment