I have been thinking about a lot about Dad recently. One of the things that I recall the most is him surprising us with things he bought. In high school we got an 8 track player, I can still remember some of the 8 tracks we had (Elton John,The Band) and how in the middle of some of the songs, it would click over to a new track. Another time Dad bought a horse!! We did not have it long, cause he did not seem to like people to ride, and bucked them off. One Christmas, I can remember being angry at him, because I thought he had forgotten to buy Mom a gift, but he fooled me and had actually bought some pieces to her china. He was pretty proud of himself over that.
The other most important thing was how he did not seem to care what others thought which showed me not to blindly follow the crowd.
What else do the rest of the family remember about Dad?
I remember that Christmas when we pooled our allowances and pored over the Eaton's catalogue to pick up the best presents for everyone and Dad gave us $10 for our fund. He doubled our stash! Then we bought everyone even better gifts. Also remember when he bought us kids a car? Didn't teach anyone to drive it, but still.
I remember walking to the corner store with him in the evenings and he would buy me a chocolate bar.
I remember him humming all the time when he worked. I think this is where I get it from.He really liked music.
I remember him standing on principle, not being dissuaded from what he thought was right. I remember him telling me that life wasn't fair-which was possibly one of the best lessons ever. (Mom and Dad both said this). I learned that even if things don't go your way, or you do the right thing, it may not work out how you'd like. But that you should do the right thing anyway.
I remember him making all kinds of things-lamps, bookends, tables, loungers. And being able to fiddle around with something to make it work.I always felt that he could fix anything.
I remember him saying to me after I had been caught sneaking out the house, 'Lying about it is worse, it's better to just walk out the front door' I thought, 'well for sure you'd catch me then, why on earth would I do that?' But now I see that he meant if you are going to do something, don't be sneaky about it, stand by your actions.
Whenever I was able to make him laugh or was saying something that he thought was interesting, I really felt like I had achieved something, because he didn't like dumb things or people-you had to put thought into what you said or did.
I also remember him stapling the phone cord to the wall so I couldn't take the phone into the dining room. Allison really likes this story for some reason. I did not like it at the time.
I remember the year he gaves us 100.00 each for school clothes, we went to Londanderry mall when it was only a couple of months old. He hated people walking on the lawn instead of the sidewalk, so I do not feel comfortable doing that. Teeth in the pocket and eyes on his head.
I remember singing Harry Belefonte songs in the car on the way to Edmonton. the song he used to sing "je ne se quois what to do." Then when Jude and I went to the old film festival and someone sang it in the film.
I remember long car trips where Lisa and I read books in the back while Dad sang in the front and Mom watched the scenery.
Also the last summer he was here, and he, Mom, Lisa, (Richard?) and I went on a car trip around important spots for him in Edmonton. We went to his parents' graves, past his old homes in Calder area and Highlands and Coliseum. When we were driving east, he said, "Now we're going past our old house," and it was the Concordia bishop's residence. He laughed and laughed. And we went to his old school. It was fun, and loud, and he kept changing his mind about what directions to give and then yelling happily when I messed up the driving. It was a great, great day.
8 Comments:
thanks for the post Lisa - dad would have been 85 today - I love that pic - I think the kids made the cake.
dont know why this machine keeps calling anonymous'
I have been thinking about a lot about Dad recently. One of the things that I recall the most is him surprising us with things he bought. In high school we got an 8 track player, I can still remember some of the 8 tracks we had (Elton John,The Band) and how in the middle of some of the songs, it would click over to a new track. Another time Dad bought a horse!! We did not have it long, cause he did not seem to like people to ride, and bucked them off. One Christmas, I can remember being angry at him, because I thought he had forgotten to buy Mom a gift, but he fooled me and had actually bought some pieces to her china. He was pretty proud of himself over that.
The other most important thing was how he did not seem to care what others thought which showed me not to blindly follow the crowd.
What else do the rest of the family remember about Dad?
aw/ Jude-such good memories
I remember that Christmas when we pooled our allowances and pored over the Eaton's catalogue to pick up the best presents for everyone and Dad gave us $10 for our fund. He doubled our stash! Then we bought everyone even better gifts.
Also remember when he bought us kids a car? Didn't teach anyone to drive it, but still.
I remember walking to the corner store with him in the evenings and he would buy me a chocolate bar.
I remember him humming all the time when he worked. I think this is where I get it from.He really liked music.
I remember him standing on principle, not being dissuaded from what he thought was right.
I remember him telling me that life wasn't fair-which was possibly one of the best lessons ever. (Mom and Dad both said this). I learned that even if things don't go your way, or you do the right thing, it may not work out how you'd like. But that you should do the right thing anyway.
I remember him making all kinds of things-lamps, bookends, tables, loungers. And being able to fiddle around with something to make it work.I always felt that he could fix anything.
I remember him saying to me after I had been caught sneaking out the house, 'Lying about it is worse, it's better to just walk out the front door' I thought, 'well for sure you'd catch me then, why on earth would I do that?' But now I see that he meant if you are going to do something, don't be sneaky about it, stand by your actions.
Whenever I was able to make him laugh or was saying something that he thought was interesting, I really felt like I had achieved something, because he didn't like dumb things or people-you had to put thought into what you said or did.
I also remember him stapling the phone cord to the wall so I couldn't take the phone into the dining room. Allison really likes this story for some reason. I did not like it at the time.
I remember the year he gaves us 100.00 each for school clothes, we went to Londanderry mall when it was only a couple of months old. He hated people walking on the lawn instead of the sidewalk, so I do not feel comfortable doing that. Teeth in the pocket and eyes on his head.
I remember singing Harry Belefonte songs in the car on the way to Edmonton. the song he used to sing "je ne se quois what to do." Then when Jude and I went to the old film festival and someone sang it in the film.
Making him laugh or proud of you was the best.
I remember long car trips where Lisa and I read books in the back while Dad sang in the front and Mom watched the scenery.
Also the last summer he was here, and he, Mom, Lisa, (Richard?) and I went on a car trip around important spots for him in Edmonton. We went to his parents' graves, past his old homes in Calder area and Highlands and Coliseum. When we were driving east, he said, "Now we're going past our old house," and it was the Concordia bishop's residence. He laughed and laughed. And we went to his old school. It was fun, and loud, and he kept changing his mind about what directions to give and then yelling happily when I messed up the driving. It was a great, great day.
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