68R/T
I got drunk and swallowed my teeth, now
My brother just called at 1:15 am to tell me that our dad had just had a heart attack and had passed.
He would have been 91 this coming July 16th. Born and raised on a farm when everything was either done by hand or with horses. After my parents married they share-cropped until '54 when we moved into town. He then worked a miserable job at a furniture factory for the next 18 yrs. When he finally got fed up with that job, he worked at a place that made silos and silo unloaders. Much happier because he was familiar with what he was doing.
In the evenings and saturdays, he spent doing farm work for an uncle. Farming was his love and he "had it in his blood" His one day off, Sunday, was usually spent washing, cleaning & waxing his car.
Out of necessity and lack of money, he did most everything that needed to be done. Not always the best quality, but workable. This willingness to "take a stab at it" has influenced me with the same outlook of "I can do that."
After he retired at 65 he quit doing anything. By then all of us kids were on our own. Many times one of us would try to get him involved into doing something and he would say, "I don't have to, I'm retired"
He worked hard throughout his prime to raise 6 of us kids on a meager wage. My mother did what she could with little money to feed and clothe us.
After my mother passed 18 1/2 yrs ago he had a hard time coping for a couple years. Eventually he settled into a routine.
After I bought my house, I would many times get him to show me the "tricks" of a new project.
It was always interesting to listen to him tell of the "old times" and how things used to get done.
He was the middle child of 13 kids and the last to go.
So long dad.
He would have been 91 this coming July 16th. Born and raised on a farm when everything was either done by hand or with horses. After my parents married they share-cropped until '54 when we moved into town. He then worked a miserable job at a furniture factory for the next 18 yrs. When he finally got fed up with that job, he worked at a place that made silos and silo unloaders. Much happier because he was familiar with what he was doing.
In the evenings and saturdays, he spent doing farm work for an uncle. Farming was his love and he "had it in his blood" His one day off, Sunday, was usually spent washing, cleaning & waxing his car.
Out of necessity and lack of money, he did most everything that needed to be done. Not always the best quality, but workable. This willingness to "take a stab at it" has influenced me with the same outlook of "I can do that."
After he retired at 65 he quit doing anything. By then all of us kids were on our own. Many times one of us would try to get him involved into doing something and he would say, "I don't have to, I'm retired"
He worked hard throughout his prime to raise 6 of us kids on a meager wage. My mother did what she could with little money to feed and clothe us.
After my mother passed 18 1/2 yrs ago he had a hard time coping for a couple years. Eventually he settled into a routine.
After I bought my house, I would many times get him to show me the "tricks" of a new project.
It was always interesting to listen to him tell of the "old times" and how things used to get done.
He was the middle child of 13 kids and the last to go.
So long dad.
