My daddy was a kind, quiet, generous person. He always had time for me, even time to play games like Candy Land, which had to bore him silly, but he never showed it. When he took me to K-Mart, he always bought us a bag of popcorn and slushy drinks. He took the time to go look at whatever I wanted to see. He was very patient. Even though he fought in WWII and Korea and served 26 years in the Army as a military policeman, his philosophy of life was, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." He rarely said a bad word about anyone (with one or two exceptions). He really was a person who built up others. His favorite position in the military was teaching recruits how to shoot. He believed if students didn't test well, then the instructor didn't teach well. He was much liked by his soldiers and some even came back to visit him. When anyone he trained was killed in Vietnam, he blamed himself as if he hadn't trained the soldier well enough. He was a perceptive judge of character and amazed me many times accurately predicting what someone would do.
Daddy was a very intelligent man who only had only a grammar school education. His mental math marvelled me. He loved to read anything about science, especially in the areas of astronomy and volcanology. He read a lot about birds and enjoyed watching them. Dad loved to tell me about some species he'd seen for the first time in Louisville. When I was in college, he read some of my textbooks. I often wondered what he would have become if he'd had the educational opportunities he should have had. Daddy was a fantastic musician who I knew played the guitar and mandolin well. At his funeral, his brothers told me about Daddy winning a prize at a county fair for "best fiddle player." I never even knew he could play a violin! My dad's favorite past time, by far, was gardening at which he excelled. He worked in his vegetable garden daily, weather permitting, and his garden produced more than I've ever managed to grow. His tomatoes were the best!
My Daddy had many talents, but repairing things was not one of them. He'd grown up without electricity or running water and didn't own a home until he retired from the Army, so he had no experience with home repairs. The first time he tried to repair the kitchen sink, he didn't turn off the water supply and the result resembled Old Faithful! When he and Mom carpeted the house, the bedroom doors wouldn't close, so he removed each door and sawed off the bottom . . crookedly . . . excessively . . . jaggedly. Mom nicknamed him Mr. Fix It and I don't think she meant it as a compliment. In 1979 I met my husband-to-be, Steve, who was (and is) the quintessential handyman. For the next seven years, Dad really enjoyed doing all sorts of projects and repairs with Steve. They were great fishing buddies too. Daddy fried fish better than any I've ever had. The best weekends were when "the boys" fished on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Dad cooked the fish and he, Mom, Steve & I played canasta later. Oh, how we'd love to spend a day like that with Dad and Mom. I'd even enjoy his corny jokes! After Daddy died, Steve said, "I didn't just lose a father-in-law, I lost my best friend."
Daddy was a very intelligent man who only had only a grammar school education. His mental math marvelled me. He loved to read anything about science, especially in the areas of astronomy and volcanology. He read a lot about birds and enjoyed watching them. Dad loved to tell me about some species he'd seen for the first time in Louisville. When I was in college, he read some of my textbooks. I often wondered what he would have become if he'd had the educational opportunities he should have had. Daddy was a fantastic musician who I knew played the guitar and mandolin well. At his funeral, his brothers told me about Daddy winning a prize at a county fair for "best fiddle player." I never even knew he could play a violin! My dad's favorite past time, by far, was gardening at which he excelled. He worked in his vegetable garden daily, weather permitting, and his garden produced more than I've ever managed to grow. His tomatoes were the best!
My Daddy had many talents, but repairing things was not one of them. He'd grown up without electricity or running water and didn't own a home until he retired from the Army, so he had no experience with home repairs. The first time he tried to repair the kitchen sink, he didn't turn off the water supply and the result resembled Old Faithful! When he and Mom carpeted the house, the bedroom doors wouldn't close, so he removed each door and sawed off the bottom . . crookedly . . . excessively . . . jaggedly. Mom nicknamed him Mr. Fix It and I don't think she meant it as a compliment. In 1979 I met my husband-to-be, Steve, who was (and is) the quintessential handyman. For the next seven years, Dad really enjoyed doing all sorts of projects and repairs with Steve. They were great fishing buddies too. Daddy fried fish better than any I've ever had. The best weekends were when "the boys" fished on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Dad cooked the fish and he, Mom, Steve & I played canasta later. Oh, how we'd love to spend a day like that with Dad and Mom. I'd even enjoy his corny jokes! After Daddy died, Steve said, "I didn't just lose a father-in-law, I lost my best friend."
My daddy was a kind, quiet, generous person. He always had time for me, even time to play games like Candy Land, which had to bore him silly, but he never showed it. When he took me to K-Mart, he always bought us a bag of popcorn and slushy drinks. He took the time to go look at whatever I wanted to see. He was very patient. Even though he fought in WWII and Korea and served 26 years in the Army as a military policeman, his philosophy of life was, "I'm a lover, not a fighter." He rarely said a bad word about anyone (with one or two exceptions). He really was a person who built up others. His favorite position in the military was teaching recruits how to shoot. He believed if students didn't test well, then the instructor didn't teach well. He was much liked by his soldiers and some even came back to visit him. When anyone he trained was killed in Vietnam, he blamed himself as if he hadn't trained the soldier well enough. He was a perceptive judge of character and amazed me many times accurately predicting what someone would do.
Daddy was a very intelligent man who only had only a grammar school education. His mental math marvelled me. He loved to read anything about science, especially in the areas of astronomy and volcanology. He read a lot about birds and enjoyed watching them. Dad loved to tell me about some species he'd seen for the first time in Louisville. When I was in college, he read some of my textbooks. I often wondered what he would have become if he'd had the educational opportunities he should have had. Daddy was a fantastic musician who I knew played the guitar and mandolin well. At his funeral, his brothers told me about Daddy winning a prize at a county fair for "best fiddle player." I never even knew he could play a violin! My dad's favorite past time, by far, was gardening at which he excelled. He worked in his vegetable garden daily, weather permitting, and his garden produced more than I've ever managed to grow. His tomatoes were the best!
My Daddy had many talents, but repairing things was not one of them. He'd grown up without electricity or running water and didn't own a home until he retired from the Army, so he had no experience with home repairs. The first time he tried to repair the kitchen sink, he didn't turn off the water supply and the result resembled Old Faithful! When he and Mom carpeted the house, the bedroom doors wouldn't close, so he removed each door and sawed off the bottom . . crookedly . . . excessively . . . jaggedly. Mom nicknamed him Mr. Fix It and I don't think she meant it as a compliment. In 1979 I met my husband-to-be, Steve, who was (and is) the quintessential handyman. For the next seven years, Dad really enjoyed doing all sorts of projects and repairs with Steve. They were great fishing buddies too. Daddy fried fish better than any I've ever had. The best weekends were when "the boys" fished on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Dad cooked the fish and he, Mom, Steve & I played canasta later. Oh, how we'd love to spend a day like that with Dad and Mom. I'd even enjoy his corny jokes! After Daddy died, Steve said, "I didn't just lose a father-in-law, I lost my best friend."
Daddy was a very intelligent man who only had only a grammar school education. His mental math marvelled me. He loved to read anything about science, especially in the areas of astronomy and volcanology. He read a lot about birds and enjoyed watching them. Dad loved to tell me about some species he'd seen for the first time in Louisville. When I was in college, he read some of my textbooks. I often wondered what he would have become if he'd had the educational opportunities he should have had. Daddy was a fantastic musician who I knew played the guitar and mandolin well. At his funeral, his brothers told me about Daddy winning a prize at a county fair for "best fiddle player." I never even knew he could play a violin! My dad's favorite past time, by far, was gardening at which he excelled. He worked in his vegetable garden daily, weather permitting, and his garden produced more than I've ever managed to grow. His tomatoes were the best!
My Daddy had many talents, but repairing things was not one of them. He'd grown up without electricity or running water and didn't own a home until he retired from the Army, so he had no experience with home repairs. The first time he tried to repair the kitchen sink, he didn't turn off the water supply and the result resembled Old Faithful! When he and Mom carpeted the house, the bedroom doors wouldn't close, so he removed each door and sawed off the bottom . . crookedly . . . excessively . . . jaggedly. Mom nicknamed him Mr. Fix It and I don't think she meant it as a compliment. In 1979 I met my husband-to-be, Steve, who was (and is) the quintessential handyman. For the next seven years, Dad really enjoyed doing all sorts of projects and repairs with Steve. They were great fishing buddies too. Daddy fried fish better than any I've ever had. The best weekends were when "the boys" fished on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Dad cooked the fish and he, Mom, Steve & I played canasta later. Oh, how we'd love to spend a day like that with Dad and Mom. I'd even enjoy his corny jokes! After Daddy died, Steve said, "I didn't just lose a father-in-law, I lost my best friend."
