Leif in Quebec City, Canada in August 1989

 For so long, I thought I'd never see any "new" photos of Leif. Now I am blessed with many of them! In scanning the slides we took back when taking colored slides was a popular means of photography, we've discovered many photos of Leif we didn't remember and hadn't seen since they were taken and developed. We only printed a few when we took them, so this is like finding a treasure.

These photos were taken in Quebec City, and Leif was, as he often did, acting silly. He found a way to wrap his feet around the railing on the stone wall and look as though he were falling off without actually doing it.

We had a great trip through eastern Canada with Leif, and he enjoyed seeing the cities and experiencing French Canada. He was 14 years old, but already over 6'1" tall. You can see he liked to dress well, with his nice slacks, dress shirt, purple tie and Members Only jacket. Those were his choices, not forced on him by his parents. And of course, snazzy sunglasses.

I'm so glad we got to take him on that trip. I wish Peter A. could have been with us, but he was already away from home at the Air Force Academy.

Shot Through the Heart

Leif was almost twelve years old when the hit Bon Jovi song "You Give Love a Bad Name" made it to the top of the charts, but it remained a favorite of his for many years and it certainly was a poignantly true song for him as an adult. These are only part of the lyrics from this website:

An angel's smile is what you sell
You promise me heaven, then put me through hell
Chains of love got a hold on me
When passion's a prison, you can't break free

You're a loaded gun
There's nowhere to run
No one can save me
The damage is done

Chorus:
Shot through the heart
And you're to blame
You give love a bad name
I play my part and you play your game
You give love a bad name
You give love a bad name

Paint your smile on your lips
Blood red nails on your fingertips
A school boy's dream, you act so shy
Your very first kiss was your first kiss goodbye

You're a loaded gun
There's nowhere to run
No one can save me
The damage is done

The song, written by Jon Bon Jovi, Desmond Child, and Richie Sambora. Leif had a huge respect for them, particularly Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora. By the time this photo of Leif was taken, he was taking electric guitar lessons and he practiced hard, trying to play some of the guitar solos of his favorite rock guitarists. I remember him listening to Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, and many others.

This song just came to me the other day, the lyrics reminding me of all his romantic heartaches, and the words ring so true. The damage WAS done and no one could save him.

I wish I had a recording of Leif playing his guitars. I wish I had a video of it. Three of his guitars still sit here in my house, including the one he designed and made himself.

I believe this photo of Leif was taken by Peter W. during our trip to Canada in August 1989 when Leif was fourteen. I think it was taken in Quebec City, but I can't be sure. He looks like he's trying to fly.

Leif & His Dad by La Creperie - Quebec City, Canada - August 1989 - Age 14

Yesterday we saw a classic car show and of course we couldn't help talking about how much Leif would have enjoyed it. There were the usual assortment of muscle cars and 1940s and 1950s classics, lots of Corvettes, and some cool trucks, but it was the DeLoreans and the Jaguar from the 1950s that really caught my eye as something Leif would have appreciated. Those and the drag racers. I wish we could have shared it with him.

Knowing we can no longer share our travels and such events with him makes all the photos of the times we did terribly precious, so photos like this one are important, with each of the memories that go with them.

This is another photo from our trip to Canada the summer of 1989. We really enjoyed all of it, but especially Quebec City, where we marveled at the Le Chateau Frontenac and the magnificent view from the bluff over the St. Lawrence River.

It was there that we saw a musician playing a "glass harmonica" made from glasses filled with different amounts of water. The sounds was quite beautiful and magical. He was selling CDs and I've always wished I had purchased one. Leif found the instrument and the musician fascinating. It was one of the things he photographed in Quebec City.

Quebec City was the place we got a parking ticket because we weren't able to accurately read the signs in French, which apparently gave some reason for not parking there. Leif found that quite amusing. Of course, he didn't have to pay the fine.

This photo was taken outside a restaurant we particularly enjoyed, La Creperie.

Leif was fourteen and a half.

Leif & His Dad - Quebec City, Canada - August 1989

Here's another photo of Leif and Peter W. on our trip in Canada. They are posing in front of the Cafe de la Paix, a restaurant we particularly enjoyed in Quebec City.

I think one reason this trip was especially interesting to Leif was the European qualities of the Canadian cities and the French language in Quebec. Although Leif lived in Germany from when he was two-and-a-half until he was five-and-a-half, his memories of it were fleeting. We moved from there to Japan and then Hawaii and then to Illinois, so his cultural experiences had been vastly different. The only time he'd been back to Europe was our brief, five-day trip to Germany in May 1988, just the year before we went to Canada.

Leif enjoyed dressing up and wearing a tie, unlike a lot of boys and men, or at least he did when he was younger. He always liked going to really nice restaurants, and his dad joked (not without reason) that Leif would always order the most expensive thing on the menu . . . unless we gave him a price limit before he ordered. He enjoyed good food and drink and elegant surroundings.

I'm so glad we had the chance to take him so many places. We had been thinking of trying to take him on another trip or cruise in the two months before he died, but he had no vacation left and couldn't afford to take leave without pay from his job, nor did he have a passport. How I wish he had lived to travel with us again.