I have wonderful memories of the Daddy. Playing out in the tomato fields while he irrigated them. . . being taken to my first day of school. . .riding in the back of his pick-up. . .seeing him in the back of the room at all my important presentations. . .watching TV with him. . .holding poles and boards as he hammered them in place. . .being taught how to drive a stick shift. . .traveling to the Philippines with him. . .going mushroom hunting in the hills. . . frying biscuit doughnuts for him for an evening snack. . .noticing a candy bar inch up on my pillow when I was sick. . . walking to the liquor store in San Francisco for a celebratory pint of whisky. . .overhearing him talk to his goats about the Mama. . . .
I remember the advise he gave me, some of which still cracks me up today, such as "Don't go fucking around (on the day of the prom)." "Don't go to any other church while I'm alive." "Don't be a hippie." "Don't trust anyone. Not even Filipinos." "Be nice (when he knew I was going to turn down a chump who was courting his and Mama's hands for a chance at me)." Some I heeded. Some I did not.
The first white butterfly I see on any day, I think of the Daddy saying hello to me.
I miss seeing him in person.
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| This was taken at Daddy's 70th birthday party. Sitting beside us is my Ninong (Godfather) Danny. |
Yes it is a time to reflect on fathers who are no longer with us physically. Loving photos
ReplyDeleteThanks, Birgit. I did a lot of happy crying while thinking and writing this post. :-)
DeleteWhat a loving shot and delightful family ~ Spirits surround us with love!
ReplyDeleteHappy Week to you!
artmusedog and carol
Thanks, Carol. A Happy Week to you, too.
DeleteThat is so sweet Susie, brought a tear to my eye too, he must have been a very special daddy
ReplyDeletelove Di xx
PS just replied to your last comment on abcw x
Yup. The Daddy was very special to me. :-) Thanks for the kind words, Di. I shall head over to abcw in a bit.
DeleteMy New FAVORITE POST - Story and Pictures - of All Time.
ReplyDeleteI can't thank you enough for sharing your stories with me . .
You make it seem like I have family, too . . awesome.
Gee wiz, G. That's high praise. I feel good that my stories get you to feel that way. Big, big :-) from me.
DeleteSusie,
ReplyDeleteYour memories conjured up some very vivid images. I could see you and your dad doing all those things together. Obviously you love him very much. Thank you for sharing your stories and the beautiful photos.
I like remembering the Daddy. We did a lot of stuff together, but our conversations were sparse. I think a lot of that was because we had a communication problem. I couldn't speak Ilocano, although I understood most of it and the Daddy couldn't speak English, although he understood most of it. As I got older, he often turned to Mama to ask her what did I say.
Delete