For Dad..

It’s 8:35, on Friday, and we’re still driving. There’s a full moon overhead and we’re on our way through South Carolina, trying to make our way to the North Carolina border before we stop for the night. We had a long delay (that we hadn’t counted on) getting around Atlanta. It took 1.75 hours to get through the city and beyond. Ugh !! On top of that, we had stopped at 2:30 for some lunch and I had drank a 32 oz. beverage. My teeth were floating by the time we got to the other side of Atlanta at 6:00 p.m. and I had carefully calculated, from our “Next Exit” book that we only had to go 9 miles out of town to hit the first rest stop. Alas, when we got there it was closed and the next one was 49 MORE miles. Those were the longest 49 miles I’ve had to endure in a really long time !
Well, tomorrow will be October 27th. Always a pensive day for me and maybe a little more so this year. It will be 20 years tomorrow that dad died so I thought I’d write a blog entry for him. He’d like that or actually he’d probably say something like “What’d you go and do a thing like that for ?”Dad loved to travel….didn’t do much of it and would have probably done way more but such is not the life of a farmer. He did have the honor of traveling to Europe in 1968 to represent US farmers in meeting with their farmers on how we do things over here. He became lifelong friends with the small group that he traveled with and they would have “reunions” every so often and I’m sure there was a lot of reminiscing that went on at those functions. He was such a hard working guy…milking cows early each morning, then bathing and going work at his “regular job” as a carpet installer…then getting home at supper time and milking the cows again. Along with that came all the farm chores of putting hay up in the summer, planting crops, etc. When I purchased the building for my bakery business dad was right there to remodel and get it set up for my business. He was so talented too whether it be in carpentry (built all of his own hay wagons) or in fixing his farm machinery.
Memories of dad….the maddest I ever got him was when I sassed mom about something and he cut a “switch” from a bush near the house. Today that would be grounds for calling child services but I’m sure I deserved whatever I had coming cause my dad never got mad like that. I imagine it would have hurt to, IF he had caught me. But my feet must have sprouted wings as we went round and round the car in the driveway, always staying out of arms reach of him. Whew ! That was a really close call and one where I must have learned my lesson cause it never happened again.
More pleasant memories are of being carried up to bed, as a child, after going to Elmira for dinner out. Seems when my brother and I were little the big thing was for my mom, dad and us to go out to eat on the weekends and back then the choices were either Red Barn or Curly’s, in Elmira, NY. It was fun except that I would get horribly car sick in those days and when you’re traveling 25 miles, in the dark….in the back seat….AFTER having had a carton of milk with your meal….well, the trip home was NOT a pleasant one for me. Sometimes I’d be lucky and fall asleep. When we’d arrive home my dad wouldn’t disturb me but would scoop me up in his arms and carry me upstairs to my bed…Sometimes I’d wake up a little while he was carrying me but I would fake being a sleep so I would get the ride.
It’s World Series time….a favorite one for dad. He loved to watch the World Series…can’t remember who his favorite team was but remember mom hollering at him to go to bed, since he usually fell asleep in his chair watching the games. He put in really long days and who wouldn’t sleep once you got to sit down in a nice comfy chair.
Dad also had a great relationship with our farm dogs. I always remember us having collies, while I was growing up, and dad had at least one of them trained to round up the cows. The dog spent the night sleeping on the back porch and when dad would come outside, he’d clap his hands together, point to the field and the dog was off like a shot. Our barn sat on the opposite side of the road from the house so the dog crossed the road, went out in the pasture behind the barn and would circle the cows and bring them to the back door. With whistles and hand pointing, the dog knew precisely what dad wanted it to do and by nipping at the cows heels, he would make them mosey along a little faster than they might otherwise come. It was great fun to watch as a youngster as dog and man worked in unison.
These are just a few of my memories of my dad….he was the strong, quiet type. Never a bad thing to say about anyone. Loved to whistle, clog, polka, sing (not all simultaneously mind you) and was just an all around GREAT guy ! Here’s to you dad….looks like the Red Sox are gonna take the World Series this year.