Books - Charlie Seymour

Walt

A Story of Fathers, Sons, and Road Trips

Walt Seymour took a road trip with a friend from Madison, Wisconsin, across the United States and Canada, and then down into Mexico and back home in 1926.

He was only sixteen years old, and he kept a diary and photographs of his travels that his son would ultimately discover in a bid to reconnect with and pay tribute to his father, the son set out on his own journey, stopping at the same places his father did decades before.

The result is two different diaries whose entries show the changes that happen over time, the delight we experience in visiting new places, and the special bonds that fathers have with their sons.

Charlie the son makes his trip at age sixty-five in an old motor home he calls Beast. The details of their respective journeys reveal the essential characters of the two men as well as their enduring love for each other.
Join a father and son on an engaging and personal journey they took together albeit eighty years apart in this inspiring story that shows what it means to live life to the fullest.

Reviews

I'm so glad that I purchased this. . .it's so many things rolled into one - Walt's 1926 diary is a masterpiece of unembellished journal recording - nothing but the facts. As the book unfolds we learn that he was a noted economist, negotiator, engineer - a truly brilliant person and it had to be because of his ability to focus tightly which comes through loud and clear in his early diary writings. In today's parlance "We picked up two girls" sounds like a teenager pushing a social agenda, but I came to learn while reading this work that in the 1920s it meant that the writer was on the road, in a vehicle (they hitch-hiked a great deal but didn't call it that back then) and I guess the group in the vehicle came upon two girls walking along the side of the road, and offered them a ride, thus picking them up. There are so many interesting bits and pieces about what life must have been like at that time - Walt quotes hotel rates, talks about looking for a bath house, was really into photography, and seemed to enjoy a good conversation. And the amount of walking that he and his traveling buddy accomplished is amazing. The counter-balance to Walt's writing is that of his son, the author, Charlie Seymour, who chronicled his own duplication of his father's 1926 road trip - Seymour is much more descriptive in his writing. And through little anecdotes about his early years with his father we see what a wise person Walt was, in the way in which he helped nudge Seymour into adulthood, and what an enormous amount of love, respect, and admiration he had for his Dad. It seems the author is quite a versatile individual - pretty much of a master mechanic, computer whiz, entrepreneur, lover of nature, hiker; and he's lived in Greece and Puerto Rico in addition to the USA. When, upon finishing the book, you put it down, you're left with a really warm feeling about these two individuals whom you feel you've come to know through following their travels along the same route, but separated in time by eighty years. I highly recommend reading this wonderfully written tribute to a father from a loving son. And I definitely recommend the print and paper edition - this is the sort of read that deserves to be held in the hands, with each page deliberately turned, slowly.

What impressed me most about this work is the way it pulls me into the time period (Walt's). Phrases such as "double exposure" and "four cents a print" call me to attention. I am prompted to create in my minds eye a tiny video of a young man, intelligent and organized, plainly and simply recording events I find exciting and somewhat risky (I am a mom). His descriptions, while brief and to the point, manage to also project a thoroughness in the way that might take my breath away if I were actually seeing "Emerald Lake" and it's "bluish green color". Like his father, the son reports in a most economical style. It is clear that, "the apple doesn't fall far" with a slightly more philosophical seasoning in the entries of the author himself. I find that these musings add insight into both men, Walt as a young man and Charlie at a point in life where observations can be based in wisdom. This is literature that steps off the beaten path.

Road Trips, Role Models, and Love In Walt, Charlie Seymour offers a first hand, unembellished glimpse into what it was like to be young, free, and adventurous in America in the 1920s, and, more significantly, what it meant, and still means, to be a responsible, loving father. This book is a heartfelt tribute to Walt's success as a parental role model, not only for the author but also for anyone who reads this book. While the reader will certainly enjoy the charming adventures and beautiful scenery described in both Walt's and Charlie's travel diaries, this book offers so much more. Traveling the same route as his father so many decades later, the author highlights how the landscape has changed, and in his recollections of his father, how parenting and family values have changed -- and not necessarily for the better. By recounting many memorable incidences when his father gently and firmly taught him right from wrong and tangibly demonstrated his support and protection for him, Seymour provides timeless, valuable examples of how to be a strong, supportive father. This is a book that will delight historians, travelers, nature lovers, and diarists and, beyond that, will serve every reader as an indispensable handbook for successful parenting. Filled with a son's admiration, gratitude, and love for his father, Walt will make your heart smile, a deep, satisfied smile.

Some Lies are Ok

George was a quiet, down to earth guy who loved motorcycle racing and later in life learned to love Jesus. The best of his eighty-three years on earth was 1989, when at fifty-four, he got married, adopted a son, and won the United States Motorcycle Association National Championship for the Harley Davidson 883 Sportster series.

Motorcycle racing was the constant in his life. Much of what George learned and much of what he taught came from his experiences on the track. Near the end of his life, his two grandsons pick him up at the nursing home to share a weekend of motorcycle racing. During this weekend, George recounts stories of his 1989 championship season, and other highlights of his life.

In Track Lessons, author Charlie Seymour creates a mosaic of events that reveal the character and life of George. Each tile of the mosaic is simple, but the collection of tiles shows how average events lead to a deep, meaningful life filled with family and love.

Charlie Seymour

Walt

A Story of Fathers, Sons, and Road Trips

Reviews

Track Lessons

Some Lies are Ok

Charlie Seymour - Walt