There once was a time

Let me tell you about someone.. Someone extremely special..  This guy was a great guy, and back when I was a little boy, I called him dad... And he was as great as dads go.. He seemed very intimidating as I was growing up. How was he intimidating??  Well for one thing he was HUGE.. He was taller than me by a good four to ten feet... And was just  a giant.. As I got older he got shorter of course but he just was this big, larger than life guy..  

(In this picture is me  in between my older brother and my dad, the scoutmaster.)
My dad was a teacher at the school I went to as well as my older brother and little brother... and for me, I was in a class that found out by way of their parents that my dad was a teacher, and so I was the outcast because of this fact.. But in the early days I didn't notice all the BS that I was having to deal with on  a daily basis of being in that class.. I had said if I would have been in the class ahead or behind me I wonder how things would have turned out..  My dad was the constant in the family. 

In the picture above we have my dad giving me a talking to, more than likely  because, well you see those little boxes there on the table?? Those are matchbox cars boxes.. And they each would have a truck or car that my older brother got for his birthday and I really liked them as well and more than likely thought they should be mine instead.. And so I'm sure my dad was giving me the talk about sharing.  Ah that dirty word no kid wants to hear, SHARING...  Dad was one person at school and quite another at home.. The intimidating posture he had made me be a little afraid of him, which isn't a bad thing.. He never spanked us, or hit us in any way..  My parents both supported my efforts probably beyond what was in reality real.. I would start to play the drums at an early age, I remember getting a drum for Christmas when I was maybe in school, but possibly I was younger than that.. And I would continue to play the drum, and drums through until I burned out in nineteen ninety... Sadly I haven't felt like playing since.. But they supported me by buying me my first drumset and then through the days of me being in a band.. My dad was quite the different person from school where he might raise his voice on a regular basis in his class.. Then be home and be quiet, a quieter man..

Dad liked being around the kids at school, in the fall the promise of a new school year energized him.. He was the principal of the grade school before I was in junior high and then a few years before he retired he was the principal of the entire school taking on the high school as well.. Hanging up his teaching completely... He taught business and typing, and really I hate to say that typing was mandatory when I was in school and I could not type to save my life.. I remember him coming over to my desk one day and say why can't you type, you can play the drums like no one else can?? My explanation:  I..  um..  I don't know.. I mean moving four body parts is way  ...  WAY easier than getting ten to move where you want them to, and typing has no rhythm at all, playing the drums is like so much easier.. I was a charity case.. I think he passed me because he felt sorry for me.. His only true loser of a son, I think he sensed I would amount to very little unless I had a lot of help..

My dad with his first and as it turns out only wife...  How many do that these days, get married and stay that way.. I think most people think of marriage as one of those I'll give it a try and if it doesn't work out we'll split, no harm no foul..   They might not have been perfect, but they got along extremely well...

Yep, dad put shaving cream on our faces.. and shortly after this picture was taken, my brother decided I needed a shave and did exactly that.. Kinda nicked me a bit..

Dad in grandpa mode with Tabitha snoozing.. I think dad liked this time the most.. He could put her to sleep and she returned the favor by getting him to snooze too..  They were the perfect partners in sleep..

When it came time to get the headstone for my dads grave site I had so many ideas go through my mind as to what the design should be.. But I had really no one true idea.. When a guy approached us to get one done, I didn't have a clue then either.. I didn't know when one needed to be done.. Should it be done and placed before the one  year anniversary when he passed.. The train from his hometown  design was decided upon eventually and it took several design attempts before we agreed upon what was done.. Still it wasn't the exact design we were hoping for but for whatever the reason and maybe I felt like we needed to get it done relatively quickly.. Maybe it was rushed, but also the guy in charge seemed like he was pushing to sign off on it and get it done.. I liked the design, the layout.. The thing is dad never talked about anything like this and really I don't know how many people like to talk about it..  So hopefully we did alright by him..