Happy Father’s Day

Here’s to my dad! I was lucky enough to have one who liked being a dad, who played ball with us and took us to sporting events and coached our teams and refereed our games and volunteered with Boy Scouts. He drove cars full of girls* to games and parties, and that couldn’t have been pleasant. (In the days before seatbelt laws, we once crammed the majority of my soccer team into the car)

He took us kids camping places like this:

and this:

He took us to the Boy Scout tree lot to pick out a Christmas tree every year. He surprised me by showing up at my elementary school graduation and tousling my hair in front of people. Daaaa-aaad!

So thanks, Dad, for everything, including the stuff I don’t know about. I’m glad you’re my dad.

—

*I was going to use the cliche “squealing girls,” but it doesn’t paint the whole picture. Sure we might have squealed a lot, but with girls of that age there’s a terrible undercurrent of backstabbing, envy, and jockeying for position.

Happy Father’s Day

Father’s Day

You may think I procrastinated, posting a Father’s Day post on the day after Father’s Day, but actually it’s an old family tradition to celebrate meaningful days after the fact. Ask my dad, he started it.

Many’s the time I have thanked my lucky stars that my dad is no Homer Simpson. As cartoon fathers go, Dad is very much a Calvin’s dad, especially in his enthusiasm for camping and promotion of character-building.

I’ve told Dad before, one of my happiest memories is dancing around the kitchen floor with Dad, my stockinged feet on his shoes. If you’re a dad and you have a daughter, go dance with her right now.

Note the physical similarities between Calvin’s dad and mine.

Aw, crumbs! I forgot to draw pens in Dad’s breast pocket. I’ve known Dad to have as many as seven writing implements there, just in case he needed them. Like when he was lying on his back, under the kitchen sink, trying to fix a leak. ‘Cause you never know.

One day later, here’s an update from Dad (who does read my blog!):

I try to hold it to only 3 writing implements in my pocket now that I am retired. It’s not enough colors or mediums but i try to make do until I can get to an adequate supply.