Please meet my Dad...

My friends, I would like to be able to introduce you to the coolest person ever, my Dad. First though, I would like to tell you a little bit about him.

He was in the army when he and my Mom got married down at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. He looked so handsome in his uniform, my mom in a beautiful blue dress. How young they looked, and with no idea what the future held for them, just that they were in love.

My older brother was born while Dad was in the service, and shortly after that my folks moved back north to New Jersey when Mom found out I was on the way.  My Dad worked for RCA when I was born, and got a promotion on my birthday so he always said I was a good luck charm.

Growing up I always knew my Dad was the smartest man alive. He would come home at night and tell us about his day at work during dinner. He knew all the answers. Given any serious issue, he could fix it. Once I was sure he was out of his league when my book bag was broken. He asked to see it and I assured him it was beyond repair. I was in the first grade, and had asked a very grown up fourth grader to fix it and he couldn’t- so it must be a gonner. Sure enough, Dad fixed it.  My Dad could build cool stuff. He built furniture and cabinets. He even built the coolest addition on our house. When the washer broke, Dad was there with his tools and manuals, and next thing you know, fixed.  My Mom was in and out of the hospital a few times, and that left Dad with work and 4 kids to tend to. I don’t recall starving. The house still ran somewhat smoothly, and he visited Mom a lot.  As a parent myself, I don’t know how he did it, not sure if he ever slept.

My Dad loved motorcycles. He had a few, a Dukati, Kawasaki, Suzuki and a Yamaha. What a thrill it was to get to ride with Dad. We rode to Englishtown and stopped at Stewarts for root beer. On Halloween Dad followed along on his bike. He always dreamed of a Harley, but said it was too much money. He always had money for what we needed though. His children didn’t do without.

Dad discovered model railroading. His name on the net was RRHowie.  He was into N and Z scale trains, real small stuff. He was amazing. He would build all sorts of accessories to go with his layouts. Once he built a tiny patio set. (and I do mean build from scratch). He proudly showed me. I kidded him and said you know, only thing missing is the picnic basket. Don’t you know, he then made that too.

Throughout my grownup life I have made many blunders and bad decisions. My dad never second guessed me, never said I screwed up. But he always was available to listen and help sort things out. I would not be living in the home I have now if it wasn’t for his help.

Once when I was a little girl I wrote to the American Cancer Society and asked them to send my Dad some information about cigarettes. They did, he was touched by the letter they enclosed, but didn’t quit. Dad was visiting my sister when he collapsed because he couldn’t breathe. He was rushed to the hospital. My Dad, forever the wise guy, when asked by the emergency room person if he was a smoker replied “nope”. Naturally anyone that was in the medical field, and examining someone that smoked several packs a day for over 40 years knew my Dad was a fibber. So they asked “…really, how long ago you quit?” His reply was, “About a half hour ago.” This was enough of a scare to get Dad to quit, for about a week.  He was released, collapsed again moments after getting home, and back in the hospital.  The next few years Dad was in and out of the hospital. A simple cold would turn into a trip to the hospital. Eventually he needed oxygen 24/7. He had the coolest motorized scooter he would ride around town in, with his oxygen strapped to the back. What a stinker he was though. He would ride a block away from the house (he really thought Mom didn’t know what he was up to), remove the oxygen from his face and light up.

I started out saying that I would like to introduce you to my Dad. Oh God, how I wish I could. I miss him so much. Dad lost his fight with emphysema at the age of 69 on January 27, 2001. He never did quit smoking.