Remembering Father on Father's Day 2008.

Here are some things that I would like people to know about my dad.

1. He died in 1979, too young.
2. He never got to see his grandkids do some really, really great things.
3. He never got to see his sons and daughters do some really great things either.
4. I thought he was stupid when I was a teen, but as I got older, he got a lot smarter.
5. He would always give you an opionion on how he felt about things.
6. Every memorial day, he would drive nearly a thousand miles just to visit his mother on or near her birthday.
7. Sometimes he would get mad at us and ask us questions and we would not know what he was talking about and when we started to laugh, he would get madder.
8. He would have shot the guy that raped my sister and he would have gone to prison for it.
9. He never allowed any of his kids or his nephews to hit a girl--ever.
10. He would drive six hours to watch me play football in high school and then turn around and drive back home because he did not have the money for a motel. I rode home with him every time I had the chance.
11. He used to take us shooting guns--and always tried to invite someone that did not have a dad to take them--then he divided the big-bore cartridges with all of the kids--even those that were not his own.
12. He hated bullies and more than once had to talk to a bully's father to let him know that if that man would not handle the problem--dad would handle him.
13. He was a democrat, but always voted for the conservative causes.
14. He loved the evening news broadcasts.
15. He also loved balogna sandwiches. I cannot even bring myself to eat it any more.
16. He grew up poor and remained poor all of his life--but he did not owe any money to anybody when he died.
17. He wanted me to join the Navy. I am glad that I did not do it.
18. He reluctantly paid for half of my mission, but shortly into it, told me that it was one of the best things he ever did.
19. He had a hard time adjusting to an automatic transmission. In 1965, he bought his first auto transmission and one time hit the brake with his clutch foot...we laughed for an hour on that one.
20. He had one of the most interesting scars that I have ever seen. I hated it, but it was interesting and it looked like he had been hit with an axe.
21. He had a funny way of showing his affection. He told me he loved me only one time because it was so awkard.
22. He grew up without a father. It scarred him for life, I think.
23. He loved to listen to HONKY TONK Piano music.
24. He was one of the best Deacon's quorum advisors that I ever knew of.
25. I never saw him wear a pair of Jeans. He hated them.
26. He taught me how to box. I would have never boxed seriously with him. He would have kicked my rear.
27. I feel kind of bad that I laughed at him when his hammock broke. He was in pain and I should have been more sensitive.
28. That same thing happened to me and my kids laughed too. What was so funny about pain?
29. Dad usually had $120 to spend on Christmas. He allotted $20 to each member of the family except himself.
30. He loved to read--just about everything and was one of the most well-informed people that I ever met.
31. He had a tooth pulled once--and then went to the state fair and bought an ice cream cone with nuts...one of the little nut pieces got into the socket and he spent hours trying to get it out. We finally had to stop at a store and get some tweezers for Mike to pluck it out. He was the only one that would have the nerve.
32. When he lost patience, he would raise his voice. The loudest I ever heard him yell was when Mike had the sniffles in a motel and he sat up and yelled "BLOW YOUR DAMN NOSE".
33. He taught us how to do a racing dive in a motel pool. He lost his shorts down to the knees.
34. He had short, short hair long before it became a fashion statement.
35. He always wore a "gravy shirt" to Sunday dinner. He knew he would dribble gravy on whatever shirt he wore so he wore the same one all the time.
36. I can still remember his social security number.
37. He had no use for certain people and would let them know if he thought they were on that list. Almost everyone appreciated knowing it and became closer to him because of his candor.
38. I wish he had been able to ordain me to the priesthood. I asked him and he felt unworthy to do it.
39. He loved a good practical joke. He played them on my Grandpa all the time--and grandpa also loved a good practical joke.
40. He always rooted for the underdog.
41. He was more kind to other people than other people ever knew.
42. He always liked my wife better than he liked me.
43. If somone died and someone had to hear bad news, Dad was the one to tell the person. He had a way of being strong during times like that.
44. He worked with me as a cub scout and we won a huge district contest by building an small model of a sail boat that would slide on ice. The prize was $5 and great big Hershey bar. He gave me the $5 and we shared the chocolate.
45. He had a good singing voice, but used it only to amuse us as kids.
46. He once purchased a camera and just about all of the photos are either sunsets or pictures of his kids in their Sunday best attire.
47. He loved shoes that were comfortable and he always made us try on his shoes to see how comfortable they were. They were always a little sweaty and Ihated that.
48. He loved to watch the Saturday night boxing matches on TV and we watched the fight when Benny "Kid" Peret died in the ring. He also always liked to watch his cousin "Hurricane Carter" fight.
49. When he took us to a restaurant, I could perceive that it was a financial hardship for him so I always ordered the hamburger without the cheese and never ordered a soda with my meal.
50. Sometimes, I would go home and he would be eating three pieces of white bread and drinking a glass of milk. He would explain that it was a "jam sandwich" which consisted of three pieces of bread JAMMED together.
51. He had no tolerance for long hair. When he saw how long my hair was after my first year in college (1969) he told me to get a haircut and I did.
52. He quit spanking us very early on. I think he hated it as much as we did, but I always knew he could take it up again...so I toed the line.
53. The hardest I ever heard him laugh wa in a movie in Oklahoma City. He hardy-har-harred so loudly and openly that we had to move away from him--but not too far--because we thought me might have had a heart attack.
54. He would never let us stop at that restaurant in TX that had the 60 oz. steak that you could get for free if you could eat it in one hour.
55. Once he bought two coconut cream pies at a bakery in Holbrook and drove them home to enjoy. He had to brake to avoid hitting a dog and both of those pies slid off the seat and down to the floor of the car. He was so upset that he drove back to Holbrook (80 miles) and bought two more.
56. Whenever he heard Benny Goodman play the clarinet, he would always tell me that he had a boy that he wished could play like that.
57. His hands were as thick as bricks and it was hard to shake hands with him.
58. He loved it when it rained and would often go out in the car to meet a good rain storm.
59. He had no clue and hated driving on the Los Angeles freeway system.
60. Every time I smell printer's ink, I think of him.
61. Every time I see a lilac bush, I think of him.
62. Every time I see a confederate flag, I think of him.
63. He died at age 63. As I said, it was way too young.