Mad men, in my sister's basement

At Thanksgiving we went through all the family pictures and found cool old shots from the Detroit ad agency Campbell-Ewald, where my late father was creative director in the late 1960s. And where my late mother—who looked from some angles like the Peggy Olson character in Mad Men—was a star copywriter. (And not yet my mom, or Dad's wife.)

Dad hated Mad Men, because as he said, "You don't make great ads by drinking and screwing all day."

And I don't see any liquor bottles in these pictures, do you? Just cigarettes.

Nevertheless, my parents did somehow find each other for second marriages. She quit the agency before they got married.

And they were happy.

And then I came along, and my younger sister, Piper.

And things got pretty complicated.

I'm working on a family memoir.

(That sentence has been true for so long that I should have it tattooed onto my typing hands—left hand, "I'm working on," right hand, "a family memoir.")

But I'm hard at it lately, because I'm coming to the conclusion that I can't stop until I'm finished. I only wonder what I mean by "finished."

Wish me luck.

And brains.

Comments

[weinberg]

pix are stunning. my dad never saw Mad Men. Died at 60. Not sure how he'd have reacted, as an ex-writer/creative at Lord & Thomas (which begat Foote, Cone, and Belding). He would have watched it, sure of that, as long as Bonanza wasn't on the other channel.

[David Murray]

Tom, let's talk more about your dad's career next time we drink.

[Rob Hallam]

Great post, David. Would love to read the book!

[Jason]

David,

Great post. You look a lot like your pappy.

Jason