Happy Father's Day

I was blessed to have a

GOOD FATHER.

He was 53 when I was born.

I was his first child.

Yep-That's ME!

He wore many hats

during his lifetime.

He was a medic in WWI.

(yes-WWI)

He taught at Penn State,

agriculture and English.

He was an insurance salesman.

He eventually came back

to his 

Bradford County, PA,

roots and bought a farm

close to the one he

was raised on.

He married my mother

late in life

and was thrilled to

have a child.

ME!

4 years later

my brother came along

and he was doubly blessed.

I remember him laughing

at just about everything

I did.

Which probably contributes to

the crazy woman I have become.

I remember going to the

stock auctions with him

and sitting up in the

owner's office,

which looked out over

the ring where the cattle

were auctioned off.

After that we would go

to Louie's Inn

and he would have a cold beer

and I would have an

Orange Soda

and a 

veal cutlet on a stick.

I remember trips to

the feed mill and he would

give me a nickle to go next

door to the little grocers

that operated out of the 

living room of a couple's home.

I remember him driving

down the hill into town after

a long day of farming to

buy me a baby doll

that I so wanted.

No mean feat in the 

mountains.

 I remember learning to 

drive an old Chevy pickup

when I was 13 and

I would steer-he would

yell- CLUTCH-

I would push the clutch in

and he would shift the floor

gear for me.

I remember his laugh

and as he was telling a joke

he would be laughing

so hard that you 

couldn't understand the punch line.

I remember feeling loved

and

I remember feeling scared

when he was diagnosed

with Parkinsons when

I was 11.

I remember that he 

always made light of his

pain and illness even

when it became hard

for him to walk.

He's been gone since 

I was 21 years old.

A lifetime ago.

And, guess what?

I STILL miss him.

If your Dad is still alive,

take a moment and thank him...

even if he is not deserving of it...

because we are called to

honor our parents-

good or bad-
and I know not everyone
had a good Dad.

I'm glad I had a good one.

I was blessed.

Happy Father's Day
to all the Dads here on
Earth and in Heaven!