Tag Archives: Dad

A man and his cigar. And his parakeet.

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More pictures of my dad, in anticipation of his 100th birthday on SATURDAY. Not Friday as previously reported.

Here is the man convicted of his homeliness. But could he be any cuter? I think no.

Speaking of no, the adorable little girl is not me. That is my cousin Marlene. I was not even on the horizon yet. Even the parakeet hatched before I did.

I almost forgot the Pithy Saying of the Day! (according to Dad, this is advice that came from HIS father):

BE NOT THE FIRST BY WHOM THE NEW IS TRIED, NOR THE LAST BY WHOM THE OLD IS LAID ASIDE.

There. Put that in your cigar and smoke it 🙂

Man’s Work

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Daddy (who would have been 100 this Friday) had a wealth of old sayings, aphorisms and proverbs.

One he quoted often while looking fondly at Mom:

“Man’s work goes from sun to sun, woman’s work is never done.”

We never quite made sense of that, since Mom, for most of her adult life, worked outside the home, while Dad made dinner, did dishes and laundry, yard work and handyman stuff.

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But despite all evidence to the contrary, old sayings are old sayings. And Dad believed every pithy word.Scan 150770001

When you’ve only got 100 years to—

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This week, had he lived, my dad would have turned 100.

It was hard to let him go. I’d take him back in a heartbeat, but I know he wouldn’t come.

But I see him everywhere. Not just in the way-too-many-but not-nearly-enough photos I have of him. In the redwing blackbird I spotted. For him that was the true harbinger of spring.

There are bits of him in all three of my boys.

Favorite hymns, harmonicas and accordions.

And whimsey.

Here is one of his favorite sayings:

“A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING AND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE”

Here is one of my favorite photos:

dad spaghetti

He dropped a box of spaghetti in the pantry. It wasn’t edible. What to do, what to do?

And here is the answer. The place for spilled spaghetti. According to a 70-something retired schoolteacher. (And preserve it for posterity with a Polaroid)

Mom said they had to walk around the spaghetti house  for a week.