Father's Day Tribute

MY DAD

"It doesn't matter who my father was it matters
who I remember he was."  Anne Sexton, poet 

In the center of this collage is my Dad (from about 1964 or 1965) - on the right is my youngest son Jeffrey (41 yrs old) and on the left is my oldest son Stephen (42 yrs old) and myself.  I think...
you can clearly see the family resemblance. 

I want to share a few things about my dad and the 3 things I remember most about my dad are:

April 16, 1922 - April 27, 1993

1 - His crazy sense of humor, especially when his older brother, Ralph was around.  :)  They would pour my grandma (their mom) a very full cup of coffee and then proceed to shake the dining table so the coffee would slosh around and splash out onto the saucer.  Grandma liked the cookies that have a chocolate cookie base, with marshmallow, covered with chocolate on top.  She'd put one of those on a small plate and inevitably, my dad or my uncle would say,"Ma, is that soft?" as they were poking their finger in the middle of it.  Take the 2 of them (dad and uncle) to a grocery store - you'd have to make sure they didn't have filled squirt guns!!  Yes...grown men!!  One would go down the aisle and the other would stand looking down the next aisle.  The one would direct the other to a spot NEAR a customer in the other aisle...and thumbs up, meant fire away with the squirt gun!!  Then off they went again.

Wonder where I get my sense of humor?  Blame it on them!!!  Although I've never taken a loaded squirt gun into any store!!

2 - Dad loved driving and taking us on vacations - especially to New York.  We lived in Wisconsin and dad's brother lived in New York...so we made pretty regular trips.  Dad had a great sense of direction - I don't ever remember him getting lost!  Since I got car-sick relatively easy, he devised a plan where I would study the map, using a marker to map our route (with his help).  Then, while driving, he's ask me where we were and what he needed to look for next (town's name, something).  Not only did this keep my mind off becoming sick, it help him stay awake.  We drove mostly through the night...while my sister and mother slept.  Worked great.

As a side bonus:  I have a GREAT sense of direction...and never get lost.  I think I have a built-in compass.

Mom & Dad on their Wedding Day -  September, 1947

(they divorced in 1979)

3 - Dad loved cars.  He loved everything about cars.  He knew year, make and model of nearly every car that passed us going anywhere.  Since I was the oldest - and there were no boys in our family, I began playing the game with him.  To this day...I can still tell the difference between a 1928-29 and 1930-31 Model A Ford!  That's right.  Not only did he like cars, he worked on cars and a hobby...and side business.  When I was a junior in high school, I helped my dad tow the frame of his old car home, so that he could restore the Model A Ford.  

Dad with His 1928 Model A Ford

I learned alot about cars - I knew I heard a noise, something that hadn't been there before...and I'd tell him.  He and I would figure out what the problem was and then he'd show me how to fix it.  I've changed my tires, changed my oil, replaced radiator hoses (upper & lower), air filter and other things.  I've even helped out men who were having car problems.  They thought it was kind of odd that I knew more than they did!  That was just my dad - he wanted me to know, in case I ever had a problem - so that I could take care of myself.

I still miss my dad - after all these years.  Especially, when I hear something in my car that could be a problem.  (Hubby knows nothing about cars and is one of those men who thinks it's odd that I could possibly know more about a car than him!  HA!)  I miss him on Holidays, on his Birthday and on My Birthday.  I think I always will.

One more thing...I'll never forget the smile on his face when he walked me down the aisle on my Wedding Day in 1969.  It was the softest smile I'd ever seen on his face - perhaps a balance of smile and almost crying...although he never cried that day.

Memories!  Love you Dad!!