Spending Time With My Dad. Father's Day 2013

Me and My Dad

    43 Father's Days have gone by since my father passed away. There has not been a day during all that time that I have not thought about him in some way.

   Today I thought I would spend a little time with him, just remembering what I can during the short time I had him with me. I was 15 when he died, so my memories only scan about 10 years or so.
   
   I don't have many pictures of him and the ones I do have I can't seem to find right now. I do have  the one above when I was probably not even a year old. I am sure I have others or my brother and sister may also have some, I just need to get together with them and scan them into my computer.

   But back to the memories. I remember the times I went to work with him on Saturday mornings. He was a body man at a local Ford dealership in Green Bay. I would love to watch him repair damaged cars and trucks and make them look like new. If you would look at a new car and one my dad repaired you would never be able to tell which was which.

   I remember melting lead and then pouring it into molds to form long sticks that he would then use to solder with a hand held blow torch to the seams of sheet metal he replaced on damaged cars.  (Maybe that is the reason I am the way I am, didn't get my lead from paint chips but straight up. :) )This was before the miracle "Black Magic" putty was around.

   I remember mixing the hardener into the Black Magic putty and then my dad working very fast to apply it to the area needing it before it got to hard to work with. Once that was done he would let me rough sand it and add more putty until he got just the right shape and contour he wanted. 

   I remember riding on the fender of the small FarmAll B tractor we had, pulling the rope on the one bottom plow as we got to the end of the row. And the day I was allowed to drive the tractor and spring drag the field as my dad watched to make sure I got all nice and smooth and ready for planting. 

   I remember church on Sundays and then a stop at the local tavern to get a candy bar, soda, and a game of pool. I remember Sunday rides with dad, mom, and my sister Lynn to go to Shawano Lake and stop in Cecil for some ice cream. I also remembered not to sit behind my dad when he had the window up incase he decided to get rid of some of his chew.

   There are many other memories that I don't want to bore you with, but memories just the same. Then again that is all I have left is memories.

   Now that my children are grown and have families of their own I don't get to spend as much time as I would like with them. Sure I get the Happy Father's Day's text message, or post on facebook, or the quick phone call and it is good to be remembered. But life was so much simpler back then.

   It good to spend some time with my wife's father at the farm too, but it is just not the same, as great a man as he is, he is not "My Dad."

   So today I decided to spend some time, just me and my dad, and try to do a little more remembering.

Love ya dad, always have and always will. Miss you.....