A Visit With Dad

Today would have been my Dad's 77th birthday.  He passed away in 2006, and as I have written here before not a day goes by that I don't think about him.  Yesterday, as I was thinking about how I wanted to honor his memory here on the blog, I began to ponder a question.  What would Dad and I be talking about if he were still here?  What were his favorite things? So without further adieu, here are topics that would have filled our conversation today.  I hope they give you some insight into the man I loved so much.

We would have been talking about Walt Disney World.  There is no doubt that we would have met he and my Mom at WDW either this past weekend or this coming weekend, and in any case he and Mom would have been going today.  They would have gone to visit his favorite character, Goofy- and Dad would have been wearing one of his many Goofy t-shirts.  They would have had lunch at The San Angel Inn, Mama Melrose's, Beaches & Cream or one of their other favorite places.  At some point, he would have gotten a beer at the Rose & Crown Pub at the UK Pavilion in Epcot, then settled down to listen to some music across the way in the garden.  He may be doing that anyway- a part of him was sprinkled outside the pub.  And we would have had his big birthday meal somewhere on site.  We loved eating at WDW.  Actually, Dad loved everything at WDW.


We would have been talking about football.  Dad played, coached and watched his entire life, and our conversations were seldom just about who won or who played well.  We talked strategy and the deeper "Xs and Os" of the game.  This particular day we would have been speaking in awe of the Georgia Tech option offense and how it ran all over our beloved UNC Tar Heels.  We would have been complaining about not being able to watch our Tampa Bay Bucs due to the NFL blackout policy.  We would have been thrilled that Tom Brady threw 4 interceptions on Sunday.  And we would have told old war stories about his days coaching the Guilford College Steelers youth footballs teams, and about their 3 city championships.  And when the football talk was done, he would have lamented the plight of his Atlanta Braves, now so close to falling out of the playoffs.  Maybe he can pull them through from his current home...


We would have talked about our favorite TV programs.  Dad loved great sitcoms like Seinfeld, Taxi, Friends, Fraiser and WKRP in Cincinatti.  I have no doubt that he would absolutely LOVE The Big Bang Theory, and that Sheldon Cooper would have joined his pantheon of favorite characters, along with Joey Tribbiani, Dr. Johnny Fever and Rev. Jim Ignatowski.  No doubt we would have recapped last week's season opener of TBBT.


He would have told me where he was playing golf tomorrow.  He played most every Wednesday with a group of guys from his community.  Dad was a pretty good golfer, who did have a hole-in-one in his 60s.  But he just loved to play.  His blood pressure was always lower after a round of golf.


And finally, we would have talked about his only grandchild, Will.  This would have taken a while, because he wanted to know everything, every detail of what was going on in Will's life.  I have written it before, and I said at his memorial service, but it is the truth.  My Dad was a very, very, very good father.  But he was a GREAT grandfather!  I know he is so proud of who the little boy he knew has become as a teenager.


So Happy Birthday, Dad!  I love you and miss you, and I miss talking with you about life.  I know everyone has a different idea of what heaven is like, but for you I have a feeling there's an Irish Pub with lots of big screen TVs.  Celebrate in style today.  And if you can pull any strings up there, could you arrange for the Orioles to finish sweeping the Red Sox and change the NFL rules back to a time when hitting the QB was legal?  I'd appreciate it.  :)  


Because of Jesus,