I once found him hand feeding two squirrels quietly on the back porch. I don't know who was happier...the squirrels or my dad. I swear they were all grinning like fools out there. It's a Region thing and before the time of everything so PC! We groaned a lot....lol
Thanks for sharing memories of your Father, Debi. Some of my favorite memories are fishing with my Dad. Wading down a river, fishing on a lake, hot weather, freezing weather; just fishing and enjoying ourselves. These days neither of us fish much, but we reminisce when we get together.View attachment 8775
This was my father, Jim, when he was only 18. A combo of Native American with a dash of German, he was possibly the most patient man I've ever met. (He had to be...he was married to my mom the-force-of-nature...lol) He loved to fish and I learned that skill at the same time as I learned to walk. An Army vet, he served in the Army Band while playing his clarinet while stationed in Italy for a bit, then came home and worked as a machinest at US Steel for over 45 years. A very tall man at 6'3", he could be soundless when walking in the woods.
He loved nature while my mom fought with it. He'd sneak food out to feed the squirrels while my mom put out live traps to catch them. Somehow, she never caught any of them until dad passed.
Dad was what he called a Dreamwalker. I believe he astral traveled, and he often made predictions he said were given to him from the other dimensions he visited. Those predictions had about a 80% hit rate, too. There are a few that are just now coming to fruition, as some were long term future predictions. He taught me many skills, and made me feel at home with my own psychic self.
And he LOVED to tell jokes. His specialty was Polish jokes.
It was 1990. Dad takes strike one. Says something about bi-focals and curveballs. Strike two and Dad's bat was still getting started in it's swing when the ball popped the catchers mitt. Big guy fouls off a few - a good sign !
I think our dad's would have gotten along well, Paint. Men from that era knew how to do it with style and grace. Yeah, onions being chopped here, too....I miss my Dad,. In fact I'm Paintman Jr., but it could have been CPAman Jr. had I taken over his accounting practice. But that kinda tells you about him and our relationship. he never pushed it, and besides, I need to be outside as much as possible. He said, with a tinge of wistfulness, "I don't blame you."
Big Guy, that's what we called him were joined at the hip with golf & baseball. One day we had a pick-up baseball game between the gym I managed and a rival gym. We showed up at Debi's high school baseball diamond , and soon discovered the other team didn't have enough guys to field a team. Swell. So we asked our Dad's, uncles, girlfriends who played softball, anyone. Dad was a sport and volunteered. Little did we know the other team brought in a ringer - a guy who had a tryout w/ the New York Yankees - and he was a pitcher.
The game was close, but when Mr. NY Yankee came in to pitch, it was embarrassing. He struck everybody out for a few innings, save for a man who bunted himself to first base, and then it was Big Guy's turn to bat. He was dressed like he just came back from golf, because he was. Always a visor instead of a ballcap.
Then it happened. A slider tailing away. Dad smacked a one hopper off the right centerfield fence for a double. He was the hero of the day. Drove in the tying run ! His new teammates treated him like Ted Williams with backslapping and hugs, and interesting choreographed handshakes.
Anyway, we played tons of golf for 3 decades, and it's there you know a man among his friends, and me w/ mine. People looked up to him because he was cool in manner and speech, but a heckuva competitor. He didn't like showboating, bragging, but he took his winnings with a smile.
Dad served during Korea, but was stationed in France & Germany where he took lots of photos of Europe reconstructing itself. His slideshows and narration from that era were PBS worthy. Then on to the Pentagon, home, worked at a Big8 accounting firm, became CFO for a grocery store chain, (Debi, Scotlad Foods was KeyMarket and Scot's Drugs), and then private practice. He was a buttoned down guy but a legendary drinker, and friends still tell stories
I wear his watch sometimes. Omega Seamaster. A friend who knew Dad well said something like 'James Bond copied your Dad (watch, suits, attitude.)
Alright, now who is chopping the onions ?
Sounds like a wonderful, loving man. So glad you have the good memories.I really miss my dad this time of year. My fondest memories of him were going to my gran's place in Margate on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal each year (1999 - 2001). We would road trip from Johannesburg to Margate which was about 750km (roughly 470mi), stopping in Harrismith for breakfast and to go look at the farm animals, then stop for lunch in Mooirivier where we would get the best biltong in SA. Once in Margate, each day we would go to the beach (he bought me my first body board to ride the waves) and he would watch me ride the waves, then afterwards help me build a sand castle, and when that was done we would go to the shop on the beach and get an ice cream.
But just in general he was always there for me when I needed him and always up for spending time with me. Especially playing cricket with me (when I was still into that sport) in the afternoons, taking me out to places and to me there was no better moment than watching TV with him in the evenings on weekends. I just wish he didn't pass away so early in my life
