I’ve finally finished day 4 of the Armchair Genealogist‘s writing challenge. Kind of amazing that it has taken me 25 days to complete 4 days. But I’m still moving forward and with pretty good consistency and that is my goal. I pulled together the photos above as reference images while I’m writing. I printed it for easy reference. The top photo is of all the instructors at the Underwater Swimmers School. The middle left is my Dad directing students. I think this is a posed photo because I just don’t see my Dad acting all bossy like that. I’ll have to ask him. The middle right is an official Navy photo from just before he went to Key West. The bottom photo you seen a lot of already, is my Dad and his 1948 Chevy convertible, taken in Hawaii before he went to Key West.

I filled out a more complete character profile for my Dad based on what Lynn Palermo had in the Day 4 email for her writing challenge. There are a couple of weak areas. I have no idea on speak habits or accents and not much of an idea on physical traits like snapping finger, winking, clearing throat. I’ll have to work on that. Maybe the clearing throat thing though. Here is what I now have:

Name:
Raymond Walter Hoglund

Detailed physical description:
6 feet 4 inches tall
Lean
Strong
Tan
Athletic
Healthy
Crew-cut
Dark Reddish brown hair
Heavy eyebrows
Brown eyes
Widow peak
Shrapnel in his shoulder

Speech habits/affectations or accent:

Physical traits:
Quick smile

Ethnicity:
half Swedish, mix of northern European

Place of birth and Age:
Morton Grove, Cook County, Illinois
young 24 years old

Family History and family statues:
Single then married – had first child just before leaving Key West
3 sisters and one brother who died when Ray was a year old
Alcoholic father was a mean drunk
Not very close to his family

Educational Background:
Sailor
EOD
Diver
Dyslexic
Struggled in school
Dropped out of high school at 16
Joined the Navy a year later
Thought he was dumb
Bad handwriting & spelling

Personality traits:
Hard worker
Leadership
Fear of heights
Helping hand
Caring
All around good guy
Casual
Loves SCUBA
Good with mechanical things
Strong swimmer
Claustrophobic?
Competitive
Loves music and books
Sentimental

Sense of humor:
Dry humor
Tease
Self deprecating

Is there anything contradictory about the character?:
Not good at recognizing his own strengths and potential

Character flaws and weaknesses:
Shy with women and strangers
Self Doubt
Procrastination of fearful things
Challenge with self-expression
Gets discouraged

Character strengths:
Brave in service to others
Willing to try new things
Reliable
Dependable
Willing to learn
Willing to change
Willing to ask for help
Good team player

What does your character want (motivation)?:
To be a plank owner
To have a family of his own
To help and serve others
To learn new things
Feel loved and accepted