Dad was quite the character . He was
the family member I idolized as a
child and respected as an adult. He
had the type of personality that
everyone loved and wanted to be
around. He always took center stage
at family and church gatherings.
Dad truly never met a stranger.
Many times I'd have to wait for him
while he talked to someone in a
store or some other place we had
gone. I'd asked him who that person
was he had been talking to and he'd
reply he didn't know them. Dad
welcomed any and everyone into his
home. His heart was open to all. Dad
always had a big grin , a pat on the
shoulder for all and a pocket full
of candy for children.
He liked nothing more than to share
a joke or story. I remember the
gleam in his eye when someone would
say they had a joke for him. The
gleam was in knowing he had the
opportunity to tell one of his jokes
or wild tales . Mom said those
stories got wilder each time he told
them. Not saying Dad was a fibber,
he just like to embellish those
stories for the best possible
impact. Dad was our family's version
of Mark Twain or Will Rogers.
Dad had quite a few colloquialism he
loved to repeat such as "colder
than a well digger's back pocket".
He seemed to have one for every
situation, some not mentionable
here. He also professed to be a
"Jack of all trades, master of none"
He could fix or jury rig about
anything.
All was safe with Dad.
Many nights after waking from a bad
dream I would creep upstairs to mom
and dad's room to be reassured the
house wasn't full of monsters or
some other horrible thing. I'd wake
Dad up asking for a blessing that I
was feeling sick. At the time being
sick sounded better to me than
admitting I was afraid. In later
years I fessed up to the fact I was
really scared and not sick when
asking for all those blessings over
the years. He replied with that
loving and comforting smile of his
that he had known that all along.
As a teenager I remember him
standing at the front door peeking
out the window at us while we sat in
front of the house with our dates.
The stoop light would flicker off
and on signaling us time to come in
. We ignored the first flicker but
knew with each following flicker of
the light the possibility of Dad
coming out in his under wear and
embarrassing us was becoming
inevitable. I don't think we ever
seen the light flicker the third
time. Dad wasn't a strict parent but
we knew what he expected of us.
I can still see his silly faces he'd
make to cheer us up.
In his later years he told us he
wouldn't have anything to leave us
when he passed away . What he didn't
realize was that he left us with a
wealth far more valuable than an
inheritance of money or material
possessions. He left us his sharp
wit, sense of humor , love of
mankind, joy of life and treasured
memories of him
