Oh Daddy-O!...

So in case I failed to mention this earlier, I'm taking my cues from a book my daughter gave me for Christmas a few years ago. Or maybe I bought it for myself and just asked her to give it to me. I really can't remember. But it's called "Reflections from a Mother's Heart.. Your Life Story in Your Own Words." And since I don't really remember how to cursive very well any more, I've decided to type it.

I'm trying to follow the entry topics pretty much as intended and just changing them up a bit every once in a while so that they apply.

And so this next one asks.. Where did your father go to work everyday and what did he do?

Ok, I think I can answer that one pretty easily.

I have no idea.

Seriously.

I know that he worked for NCR (National Cash Register) and that he always had these boxes of little metal thingies in his office and in the garage (which I suppose equated to some huge technological devices back in the day.) But honestly? Other than that... No clue.

I remember one time in elementary school when my one of my teachers asked us this very same question. And I simply couldn't answer it. And I was so confused as to why she would expect anyone to actually know that.

I do remember that he travelled a lot and that one of our Sunday night activities included sitting down as a family and watching slide show presentations of his travels. I can still remember the "click click" of the slides changing and how I thought the slide show canvas that he'd set into the living room and pull up was very, very cool. I don't remember any of the actual pictures themselves.

But some of the memories of my dad that I DO have were, first, him taking a belt to me whenever I did something naughty. And I think that's so sad that that always has to be the first thing I remember when I think about him! But perhaps those were just the 60's, and it was fairly common then, so perhaps everyone my age has those memories.

But here are some happier ones:

• How he would tell us a joke and how his laughter was always so infectious.
  
• The time he tried to improve our weekly artichoke meal by stuffing it with hamburger.
  
• Him taking my mom and my younger sibling on a surprise vacation to a motel on the beach... even though we didn't leave for it until 2 in the morning and returned right after breakfast the next morning.
  
• The fact that I think he actually attended most of my dance recitals and immortalized every one of them on reel to reel.
  
• And that I don't believe he ever missed a one of my truly important celebrations or proud moments and was proud as well.
  

I just feel sad that I was never able to get to know him better. There was just a problem connecting. Of course we got closer as I got older and our ages merged slightly and for the last several years of his life I actually had a chance to spend quite a bit of time with him. He also got to meet my children and he loved them too.

My dad passed away of cancer in August of 1994, on my younger sister's birthday.

There are just SO many things about my dad that I will never, ever know yet I believe there must have been so many wonderful facets to him that were way beyond my perception at the time. For one, that he really wanted to love and commit to something.. but he just didn't know how. And I also believe that he knew who he was and wanted in his heart of hearts to be able to share. But I know that he had a tough childhood... way tougher than mine could have ever imagined being (and which was overall extremely blessed.) So I'm going to give him that. And also a high five for effort.

My mom recently shared with me a whole bunch of pictures of him though. And I just love having them!


Here he is on a pony as a kid.


High School Graduation.


College Graduation from USC in Business Administration.


Once a drummer in a dance band!


He enlisted in the Navy at age 19 and served as a radio man on an aircraft carrier during World War II.

And this is where my history gets all messed up... World War II or Korean War, I have no idea... but I just really love these next few pictures!


On a ship somewhere...


On a rickshaw...


Relaxing with a friend...


Outside a Naval Hospital in Yakasuka...


Caught writing a letter to mom...


He always loved that camera!

Anyway... I think my dad was an extremely handsome and genuine man. I can completely understand why my mother was so taken by him. And I want to believe they (and we) had at least a couple of really good years together.


Our first family pic...


Visiting the Grand Canyon...


Sailing with his girls...

In 1984, after a long period of seperation and a finally a divorce, my dad eventually married Peggy Jeffries who was a wonderful woman and I feel a really good match for him. And I believe he was able to find some comfort and comaraderie during those last ten years of his life.



I'm just so happy he was able to stick around long enough to meet his grandchildren.



Regrets? Well, there are more than many. But one of them is that I don't think I even have a picture of just me and my dad... together... all alone.

Wait! I just found one...



Another blog about dads...

My Favorite Childhood Pastimes...

I think there were several...

But organizing talent shows in my garage was probably right up there on top.

And when I think about it... What mom would want to spend her entire Saturday off having recital costumes slung all over her kitchen table and having kids running in and out of the door all day making quick changes? But somehow, she seemed to be okay with it. Oh and also... I think my mom was usually pretty much our only audience...

We also had a little metal trough over on the west side of our house where we housed frogs. And they would spawn tadpoles from time to time... so I remember spending alot of my time over there too.

And then there was back in the day, when we weren't so fearful of going out into the world... and even spending the whole day out there. There were fields and hills and trails to explore, which of course we did.

Imagine having a field of grass right across the street that had grown so tall that you could literally get lost in it for a whole afternoon. (To be precise, it was right across the street from my babysitter's, which was still pretty much like home.)

And we didn't have the internet... or video games back in those days. But we would play kick-ball in the vacant lot until the sun went down like a big orange ball that looked surprisingly like... the big orange ball we'd just been playing with.

But most surprising memory of all is how I use to zoom at hyper-speeds down the hills of my town on my bicycle without any care in the world at all. Pretty strange and funny when I think about it now, given all my abandon on the highways...

My Childhood Home...

My parents tell me that we lived in a rented house on Baldwin Avenue in Rosemead, CA until I was around 18 months old. Of course I have no recollection of this so I'm not sure why I think my own children should remember the first places THEY lived... just because I do. Thank goodness for pictures. Here are a couple of me and my sister Carol both inside and outside of that house I am told that we lived in.

So for all intents and purposes, my first and only childhood home was on Lawnwood Street in LaPuente, California. A one level, three bedroom, one and a half bath little slice of heaven for my parents... and for me and my sisters, the center of the universe. Of course I've moved up and down in the world and had exactly eighteen other centers of the universe since then. But that's another blog... or eighteen.

Since the home we bought was brand new we were pretty much starting from scratch and so my dad, of course, had to whip the yard into shape.




I just love these memories of my dad! I only wish I could remember them...


Here's a picture taken of me while the grass was seeding...
Nothing but mud...
And another one once the lawn (and lampost) were in... I loved trying to climb that lampost, it was as tall as the Washington Monument to me!
Finally... a virtual oasis...

Anyway... a complete pictorial tour of my house could probably go on for ever so I'll just give you the quicky version.

Our kitchen tabletop looked pretty much like this... with a vinyl wrap around seating booth for eating... which is pretty much the only place we ever ate... or ever did anything. So I'm completely surprised that I don't have a real picture.

The kitchen floor was dark red with multicolored confetti-like speckles in it. It must have hid all the dirt for sure! I never realized at the time how very cool it all was.

And keeping within the bounds of the overall color scheme, our living room decor was just as tasteful...





**Note the tasteful way of positioning the feet for photoshoots... because, yes, we DID attend "Charm School." We even learned how to hold our umbrellas properly... it was important.


I digress...

But seriously... I loved my home. It was a haven for me and it was everything a child could have ever thought they wanted or needed. In fact I wish, if it were at all possible, to be able to back there someday and do a "walkthrough." Even though I did do a "driveby" about twenty years ago and well, the neighborhood is now pretty, extremely scary...

Isn't it funny how everything in life manages to change around us but our memories always remain the same?

I forgot to show you my old bedroom... with the lovely chenile bedspread and awesome wraparound overhead cabinets and bulletin board.



...or my backyard. Believe it or not, I had a lot of fun out there! And over the years it proved to be the backdrop for a ton of priceless photo ops.