Fond memories of Your Dad?

[Bill Morrison]

I've been thinking of my dad as Father's Day approaches. Do any of you have some fond but possibly obscure memory of your dad that you might want to share?

When I was young (1950's), Dad used to take me to the Toledo Zoo for an hour or so, just me and him. It was only years later that I realized what this meant. Dad was working forty hours a week as an architect AND also serving as a pastor of a church involved in a building program. I think this was his way not only to be with me, but to get away and keep from cracking under all the stress he was under.
THANK YOU Dad! Those zoo experiences are one reason I am a biologist today.

BILL

[Hans Deventer]

I think it was either 1963 or 1964, because we still lived in Rotterdam (moved in June 1964). I must have been 6 years old. I was walking with my dad in the shopping area in our part of the city, and saw a box of Meccano in the window of a shop. (Don't know if you guys are familiar with Meccano, but it was a metal construction system, you could build anything from it, great stuff!) I asked if I could get it. With Meccano, there was a system of several boxes you could buy that would each bring you to the next level of possibilities. Must have costed something like 8 guilders, which was a significant amount for a boy in those days. And I actually got it! It wasn't my birthday, it wasn't Saint Nicolas' Eve, it was just a Saturday. And these things did not happen in the early 60's! So I have never forgotten it.

Dad with my sisters and me, late 60's.

2479

[Benjamin Burch]

My dad always liked to golf, and he golfed at this really homey course fifteen miles down the road across the border in West Virginia called "Sleepy Hollow." He took me with him a couple of times, not sure why, and I played along with my plastic toy golf driver and ball. I guess I would hit it until dad had to get back in the cart and go to his next shot, at which point I picked my ball up and got back in the cart with dad.

As I got older, I decided that I wanted to learn to golf, and golfing became our getaway together. In October of 1998 (I was 12), my dad took me with him to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to go golfing for a week. Just me and him, we were gonna go golfing together. I don't remember much of the details, but I remember I loved the whole trip. Just my dad and I, for a whole week!

To pass the time (Myrtle Beach was an 8 hour drive from northern Virginia), we would play the "A,B,C Game". My dad absolutely destroyed me in this game the whole way down. Finally, I asked my dad "how come you see them so much quicker than me?" He got a worried look on his face, and asked me, "Can you see the signs well?" I responded with something explaining that I thought I could, but then they passed so quickly. My dad asked me to tell him when I could read the next sign.... not until it was very close. He informed me that just like him, my mother, and my sister... I needed to get glasses. It was the only disappointing memory I have from the trip!

[Gina Stevenson]

Metal construction kit ... sounds like what was/is called an erector set here. Neat!

[Dana Grant]

I don't know if you have heard of this or not, but my dad used to twirl a dish towel until it was like a long rope, and then snap it on us on our rear-ends, and it would STING!!!!!! I mean, it wasn't horrible or anything, just silly, felt kind of like snapping a rubber band, you know...........well, one evening while my dad was in his easy chair reading his newspaper, I decided to pay him back and give HIM the SNAP!!!!! So, I twirled up the dish towel, and I came into the living room trying to snap his foot.....I kept missing, or not snapping it right. He just said "you fool with the bull and you'll get the horn, remember that," and I got so tickled I couldn't snap it right, but then.......ahhhhhhhh......it snapped...and he FELT IT!!!!! My dad came out of his chair, and I started running, thinking he'd not run after me --

Well, he did. I ran out of the house, and he chased me all around the house more than once, until we were both laughing so hard we fell into the grass in the back yard........and yes, he got me back!!! But it's one of my favorite memories of my dad. Just spur of the moment fun -- even though it did involve a little bit of stinging pain!!! ha ha ha

[David Graham]

I have so many fond memories of my father.

As a child he took the time to teach me so many practical skills: e.g gardening, laying concrete, brick laying, camping & bush craft, fishing, playing tennis and cricket, driving a car and carrying out basic repairs to a motor vehicle.

As an older teenager, he simply took the time to talk with me about lots of different things regarding life.

As I grew older, my Christian faith and his religious skepticism meant that we seldom spoke about religious matters, yet we shared a great respect for one another and the work we did. I remember my mum telling me that one time some Jehovah's Witnesses came to the door, and in the conversation that followed, Dad said: "Well my son is a Nazarene Pastor, and he doesn't believe that, so it's probably not right"!

That gave me a level of authority in his eyes that I didn't deserve, even though it made it less likely that they were going to mislead him...... I guess I was thankful for that. Four days before he died, I was able to pray with dad as he recommitted his life to Christ........ which is probably the most precious memory I have of him.

[Diane Likens]

Many, many sweet memories:

Dad NEVER fell asleep on the couch. Ever. Nudge him and he'd say, "I'm just checking my eyelids for holes".

He'd twist up words and had his very own vocabulary. I was a pre-teen before I knew the bugs in the yard were NOT hassgroppers! And I don't remember how he said all of the months of the year, but I do remember Septober, Octember and Nowonder. I heard stories about the Pee Little Thrigs, Rindercella who went to the bancy fall and slopped her dripper ... you get the drift.

Make a statement and he knew a song with exactly those words in exactly that order and he would SING it. The ENTIRE song!

Now, looking back, I realize he had a full-time job, a family farm, AND he built our house from the foundation up. He loved and raised eight children -- three of which others would have referred to as step-children. I never in my life heard him use that expression, though. He modeled adoration and respect for his wife, love for his family and his country, and dedication to his God and his Saviour.

And boy oh boy do I miss him!

[Dennis M. Scott]

I remember when dad tried to have "the talk" with me. He asked, "Son, how much do you know about sex?"

I responded, "Well, a little bit, what do you want to know?"

The subject never came up again.

The best part is that at age 85, dad is still with us. He and his bride of one year are coming to visit this week. Looking forward to it.

[Billie Goodson]

I remember when dad tried to have "the talk" with me. He asked, "Son, how much do you know about sex?"

I responded, "Well, a little bit, what do you want to know?"

The subject never came up again.

The best part is that at age 85, dad is still with us. He and his bride of one year are coming to visit this week. Looking forward to it.

Pass along my greetings to your father and his bride! Hope his hand is getting better, and I appreciate his hospitality.

As for my father, I remember him being there so many times when it may not have been the most convenient. Even checked himself out of the hospital once to watch an all star game I had been selected to play in. Quiet a surprise to look up and see him in the stands.

[Ryan Pugh]

Lots of memories but not necessarily obscure.

Going to the inaugural game for the Colorado Rockies and many more after that.

My dad helping me work on my car. Wait, I was helping my dad. No wait, I just watched.


I remember when dad tried to have "the talk" with me.

My "talk" came after a family game of "Taboo" in which I described the belly button as "where babies come out of". Yeah, I was rather naive.

I'm looking forward to spending time with dad and mom next week as they come visit us in Boise.

[Susan Unger]

I don't know if you have heard of this or not, but my dad used to twirl a dish towel until it was like a long rope, and then snap it on us on our rear-ends, and it would STING!!!!!! I mean, it wasn't horrible or anything, just silly, felt kind of like snapping a rubber band, you know...........well, one evening while my dad was in his easy chair reading his newspaper, I decided to pay him back and give HIM the SNAP!!!!! So, I twirled up the dish towel, and I came into the living room trying to snap his foot.....I kept missing, or not snapping it right. He just said "you fool with the bull and you'll get the horn, remember that," and I got so tickled I couldn't snap it right, but then.......ahhhhhhhh......it snapped...and he FELT IT!!!!! My dad came out of his chair, and I started running, thinking he'd not run after me --

Well, he did. I ran out of the house, and he chased me all around the house more than once, until we were both laughing so hard we fell into the grass in the back yard........and yes, he got me back!!! But it's one of my favorite memories of my dad. Just spur of the moment fun -- even though it did involve a little bit of stinging pain!!! ha ha haWe didn't snap a towel at each other, but we did chase each other all over the place. My mother never saw the fascination so while Dad and I chased each other around the kitchen table, she'd yell from another part of the house for us to stop it. This would just make us laugh even harder.

[Benjamin Burch]

I think it was either 1963 or 1964, because we still lived in Rotterdam (moved in June 1964). I must have been 6 years old. I was walking with my dad in the shopping area in our part of the city, and saw a box of Meccano in the window of a shop. (Don't know if you guys are familiar with Meccano, but it was a metal construction system, you could build anything from it, great stuff!) I asked if I could get it. With Meccano, there was a system of several boxes you could buy that would each bring you to the next level of possibilities. Must have costed something like 8 guilders, which was a significant amount for a boy in those days. And I actually got it! It wasn't my birthday, it wasn't Saint Nicolas' Eve, it was just a Saturday. And these things did not happen in the early 60's! So I have never forgotten it.

Dad with my sisters and me, late 60's.

2479

You had some legs! Holy Cow!!

[Craig Laughlin]

Like many of you I was blessed with a father that loved me, told me he loved me and showed it in the way he lived and related to me. Also like many of you when I read the question the problem was that there were boatloads of really great memories, vacations, fishing trips, sporting events, camps, fun stuff around the house and on and on.

Probably one of the most formative was when I was a pretty little guy. My dad often stayed up late to watch the late movie. I remember waking one night and sneaking downstairs to see what was so great about the late movie. As I approached the door to the living room I could see the light flickering from the TV but the only sound was that of soft murmuring. When I got to the door and peaked in my father was kneeling in his favorite chair, praying and gently sobbing. I listened for a few seconds and he was pouring his heart out to God for the soul and life of his son, me.

My dad lived a very wicked life before coming to Christ. (Biker when bikers were bad news) Growing up he heard lots of sermons about sowing and reaping. More than anything in life he did not want his son to reap what he had sowed during the alcohol hazed lawless years of his life. I was blessed to reap what he sowed for the rest of his life after becoming a follower of Jesus. - Dad went to be with the Lord about six years ago. Still miss him.

[Hans Deventer]

You had some legs! Holy Cow!!

Lol! I did wear my shorts rather high, but it's true that my legs are relatively long.

[Charlene Clevenger]

I have lots of memories of little things dad did. When I was little, If it was raining when we got home he would carry me in from the car. A few times we went out to breakfast on a Saturday, just the two of us. When you're the youngest of 4 that's pretty special. We also liked watching old movies together. There was a TV station in the Bay Area that showed Mickey Rooney's The Human Comedy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036022/) every year on Memorial Day. I would get up early, even though I didn't have school, just to watch it with my dad.

[Peggy Gray]

So many fond memories of my Dad, but the fondest are of the way he treated Mom. Married almost 53 years, he kissed her goodbye when he was headed out to mow the lawn or down cellar to work in his shop. Once his friend stopped by for a visit and after a few minutes of his friend's profanity-sprinkled conversation, Dad said to him "If you can't keep a civil tongue in your head in front of my wife, I'll have to ask you to leave my house." And I only heard them "fight" once. My brother and I were pretty young, and Mom was upset about something, and went into another room, shutting the door behind her. Dad opened the door. Mom said "I wanted that shut." Dad said, a bit sharply, "Well, I wanted it open!" My brother and I burst into tears, my mother started to cry, and Dad fished two quarters out of his pocket and gave us each one (a quarter was big money in the 50's). Then he said, "You'll get another quarter if you ever hear me raise my voice to your mother again." And we never got that other quarter.

[Billie Goodson]

Like many of you I was blessed with a father that loved me, told me he loved me and showed it in the way he lived and related to me. Also like many of you when I read the question the problem was that there were boatloads of really great memories, vacations, fishing trips, sporting events, camps, fun stuff around the house and on and on.



You know, the interesting thing is that I really didn't understand my father's love until after he passed away. Not that we had any kind of bad relationship, but my father was not someone that said, "I love you". He did it, but didn't say it. Since he has passed away, there have been so many changes in how I relate to my mother because of my father being gone. Maybe a happy medium between the saying and doing would have been better. But, what he did was with the deepest sincerity that I can only hope to match through a million "I love you"'s. Sadly, I am still way behind.

[Craig Laughlin]

Billie,

There was a generation of men that were brought up like that. I remember as a kid my dad coming home from some sort of thing he and mom and gone to and talking about how he learned that it was important to tell kids that you loved them. His dad died when he was 11 so he craved his father's affection. I don't remember a lot before that but I know many a man from that generation that later regretted not saying it to their sons. However, I also know lots of sons raised by those fathers whose story is just like yours. "Wish dad had said it more but how he lived his life and interacted with me left no doubt that he loved me."

[Jim Franklin]

When our parsonage family was on a $20/wk salary in 1945 in Fargo, ND, we kids were told that we could not afford to buy a Christmas tree so my mother had taken a fallen tree branch/large twig and wrapped it with green crepe paper and added icicles, decoratative balls and other left over decorations and we were pleased to have that when our dear daddy brought home a small fir limb of 2 feet in length that someone had given him. We were very excited and thanked Jesus for putting in that person's heart to give daddy a "Christmas Tree."

[John Kennedy]

His ability to see the humor in just about any situation - something he sometimes wished he could repress. He once said that he could hardly remember a funeral he had preached where something didn't happen that required all of his self-control to keep from laughing .

He could rarely tell a joke without starting to laugh before he got to the punch line. At his funeral several people commented how they were going through a hard time and "Rev Kennedy stopped by, told us a joke, got us to laugh, and then prayed with us."

[Gina Stevenson]

Copied something here that I posted over on FB ... something I've mentioned here before a time or two (or three?) over the years, but had found nothing where it could be heard before, so here 'tis, the Elton John song we did in church years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since it's Father's Day, here's one that a friend and I did in church on Father's Day many years ago. Just learned [looked for mp3 long ago] that this song is on the web.
It has neat lyrics for those with young kids (where this friend was long ago) ... introducing a little one to their "new baby brother," such a "Discovery."

[when we did it at this friend's suggestion, I'd never heard it, so listened to a tape over & over to learn this song I'd never heard to be able to play keyboard as heard here.] ;)


https://s-external.ak.fbcdn.net/safe_image.php?d=2c1dd3197ab80ce36c9afcb719336f5e&w=130&h=130&url=http%3A%2F%2Fi4.ytimg.com%2Fvi%2F_-KWQlJNIvM%2Fdefault.jpg (https://www.facebook.com/)Elton John - The Greatest Discovery (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-KWQlJNIvM&feature=share)

There was another one that someone did a decent job on, so we'll post that here, too ... and it might help if someone does not catch all the lyrics when Elton sings it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx3nkLhIYZQ

EDITED to add that this friend & his family have now been down in Nashville area for years where he has done studio work; great guitarist ... he did guitar while I did piano.

[Cynthia Prentice]

When I was very young I began having nightmares...my mom said the nightmares started around age two when they took my pacifier away. I remember when I was very little my father coming into my room at night and lying on the floor beside my bed and reaching his arm up and holding my hand after I had a bad dream...until I fell asleep. Even at that tender age I knew that this position must be uncomfortable for him and sometimes when I was feeling especially brave I would pretend to go to sleep so that he could go back to his room.

When I was 18 years old and living in Egypt we received word that my father was not expected to live. He was suffering from necrotizing, hemorrhagic pancreatitis. When our plane landed in Houston he was still alive and we were whisked to the hospital just in time to kiss him before he went into surgery. When the surgeon spoke to us after surgery he told us that my dad had a 5% chance of living and if he did live he would be in the hospital for at least 6 months and that they would not know if he was going to live until the day he walked out. I knew that for however long he lived I would be by his side. That was 1982 and I am blessed, at the age of 47, to still have my father by my side. He walked out of the hospital after a four 1/2 month stay (all but one week with no food or water by mouth - just a TPN IV in his artery) and 10 years later he gave his heart to the Lord. He is an incredible man of God and he is my hero.

Blessings,

Cynthia

[Katelynn Scott]

My dad didn't grow up in a Christian home and his father wasn't really an emotional guy (still isn't to this day). My dad, therefore, made it a point to spend time with each one of us individually (I'm one of 4). When I was 13, he took me on a camping/canoeing trip (just the two of us). When I graduated from high school, he took me on a special graduation trip in a Corvette (WOOHOO!) to Boston for a weekend. I was home schooled as a younger kid and sometimes (probably more to give my mom a break from my obnoxious, incessant talking... anyone surprised?) he would take me with him to church while he worked and I would do my school work in his office on the floor. He designed, built and installed stained glass as a hobby and a job on the side and would take me with him when he made installations and teach me how to use various tools, etc... He took us each out for breakfast on our birthdays - just you and dad.

BUT, the one thing that I appreciate most about my dad is that starting at some point in middle school, he would wake me up every single morning and we would have devotions together on the couch - just the two of us. After spending 15 or 20 minutes with me, reading the Bible and praying, he would wake up my next sibling and it was their turn next. When I was in high school, we picked Revelations for a while and I'm pretty sure we gave up on that one - 5am isn't a great time for the end of the world. ;o )