The fathers we admire

The crew and I are on the road today.

I turn the blog over to you on this Father’s Day.  Tell us about a father you admire.  Write a tribute.  Share an anecdote.  Give him a public thank you.

I’ll try to report on our new camp this evening or tomorrow morning, depending on whether we are in a place with internet signal.

Happy Father’s Day!

rvsue

 

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21 Responses to The fathers we admire

  1. Sandie says:

    My Dad taught me the importance of being a true American with great pride in our country. I am so grateful to him for allowing me to fall flat on my face when I needed to and to be there to pick me up. I miss him.

  2. Chinle says:

    Sue, great idea! Hope your travels today are fun.

    My dad wasn’t much of one for expressing his emotions in words. Instead, he exposed us all to great guitar music, HAM radio (we got to talk to people all over the world), camping and rockhounding and the natural world, railroads, a love of adventure and seeing new places, buttermilk (he was born in Missouri), how to fix things (I didn’t pay enough attention there), bluegrass, and many other good things.

    When I was going to school in Boulder, Colorado, I decided to pay him back a little for all he’d done, so I bought him a ticket to come see a premier bluegrass group, Hot Rize. I picked him up at the airport and we went to the Niwot Grange, where they were playing. They later got fairly famous, but this was back when they’d just started out. During the break, I asked them if they’d play “Prayer Bells of Heaven,” a good gospel bluegrass song that my dad liked. They did, and dedicated it to him. He was dumbstruck and I got a good laugh out of it. We played that song at his memorial, a few years back. He had his own buegrass band called the Sonshine Mountaineers.

    My dad taught me that love is as love does, not as love says. I miss him.

    Here’s the song, if interested:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaZ_GctC9E4

    • Donna K says:

      I’m not Sue but have to tell you how much I enjoyed that video. My Dad would have loved it to. He played guitar and banjo and loved all music but especially gospel of any genre. Thank you for sharing.

  3. Mel (Melanie from NV) says:

    As an only child and a daughter, my father taught me I could do anything I wanted if I worked hard and gained knowledge from any/all sources available. He was a cowboy, a NASA engineer during the Gemini & Apollo era and a world famous self taught gun & knife engraver. My dad loved & lived a simple life, appreciated every day and lived it to the fullest – he demonstrated integrity by example and earned the respect of everyone he knew, He has been gone 2yrs but he will always be with me and I miss him so much. Happy Fathers Day daddy.

  4. Debra says:

    This is my 1st Father’s Day without my beloved Dad. He was an incredible musician and singer. This was his last time at the piano filmed just before he died on 9/16/2011 of brain cancer:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt4l5nQxHpM&feature=plcp
    This is my Father’s Day tribute to him on my blog:
    http://www.dsdickinson.com/2012/06/61712-two-dads.html
    I miss him more than words can say. Happy Father’s Day dad. You’re still the best man I’ve ever known. xoxoxo

  5. John says:

    Nice idea, Sue.

    I posted my tribute to Dad on my blog earlier this week, and then yesterday added another bit when I realized he was the one who introduced me to the concept of compact RVs. Even after 25 years, I miss him.

  6. Pat says:

    My Dad served in WWII in Patton’s 3rd Army and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Dad wasn’t musical, but did play and carried a harmonica. He told us little about his service, but shared stories about his friendship with a guy nick-named Frenchie. Frenchie played anything and the two of them entertained in bars. Other stories were told more by what he didn’t say. Dad stressed that we never allow our decisions to be made for us by people more stupid than we were. We were to question everything and to never, ever say ” I was just following orders”. We had been given brains and we were obligated to use them. Dad told us about being colder than he’d ever been in his life and waking to find others dead from the cold. He picked up chicken lice from sleeping in a chicken coop. He wore the boots and great coat he’d taken from a dead German because it was warmer than his own. He kept marching toward the front until he heard guns and had to abandon the warm coat and boots. He gave my brother and me nice harmonicas and then gave some to our children. Dad has been gone more than 25 years, but I still value the things he taught me and miss him.

  7. Nancy says:

    One late summer evening in 1963 we gathered around the dinner table and talked about everyday events, Dad liked to have a handle on what was going on in his daughters’ worlds. Oldest daughter Pauline talked about getting ready to go off to college, excited about joining a sorority, middle daughter Susan had just opened a letter from her pen pal in Kenya about a possible visit to upstate NY and I was bursting to describe something amazing I’d seen earlier that day.

    When my turn arrived I told Dad when I grow up (I was ten) and get married my husband is going to buy me a maroon Chevy Corvair convertible! Dad coolly responded, Nancy, I have two things to tell you, no one is going to buy you a sports car and by the time you are old enough to have a car you won’t want a Chevy Corvair.

  8. Hotel California says:

    Dad passed away 2 months ago, just short of 100 years old. His was a life well lived and a death well died. I want to live and die the same way he did. Miss you Dad.

  9. Page says:

    My father taught me how to truly be in the moment and to love nature. I spent many days hiking, canoeing and meditating with him. He’s been gone over 7 years, but he lives on in my heart.

  10. Lisa says:

    I want to express my incredible gratitude for my friend, who has filled in the gaps for my daughter. Unlike her father, he tells her straight-out that she’s pretty, shows up to her events, her graduation, etc.. He encourages her to try new things, tells us when her car needs work … in short, he’s showed an interest in her and I’ve gotten to watch her respond to that attention. Of course, she rolls her eyes at everything her “Uncle Jeff” says, but I know it’s made her feel better about herself.

    I guess my point is that we are all here to help the young ones along. All men can be fathers. It just takes a little caring, a little love.

  11. Bev Deem says:

    My Dad was a Russian Immigrant and insisted that all his (with Mom) children would complete high school and some years of college. Six of us completed high school; 5 of us completed the number of years of college required for our chosen field; the eldest brother chose to manage our farm rather than pursue a college degree. This was quite a feat for someone who chose farming to accomplish goals for his family. He was self educated and could debate with the best informed. He has been gone for 53 years–wish I could have known more about him!

  12. Marcia says:

    My Dad died 20 years ago and still I miss him every day. If there was one good thing to say about another person he would say it instead of the negatives. He was a great listener, a good
    storyteller, an eternal optimist and a dog lover. He lived well and died well. God bless you, Dad. I hope we meet again.

  13. Llanos says:

    I have the best Dad a person could want. Dad came thru the depression. That left a mark on him. His seven brothers went to WWII. Dad was a too young skinny farm kid. Instead, Dad worked with the Germans! You heard me right, Dad baled hay with a German POW crew. A Sargent would bring them down to the little country store every morning. Dad would meet them there and off to work all day while the Sargent stayed at the store and B.S.’d all day. All Dad’s brother’s came home. They always gave him “good natured heck” for working with the Germans. Dad instilled in us a love of our country. He always taught us that we have two feet, to “stand up” on them. My Dad loves to “whittle”. I gave him a new pocketknife this morning. Sadly, Dad is the last. All my uncles are gone now.

  14. Ron says:

    My dad has been gone awhile but I still miss him everyday.
    He was the oldest of 10 kids and had to go to work in the second grade to help out so that was all the formal education he had . He self educated himself ,could handle number faster in his head than you could on an adding machine and a very successful business man
    He was tough blunt and all business but at the same time fair honest and soft when he could be.
    I was lucky enough to be a business partner with him for over 20 years, and I will have to say I have never met a better man.
    Will always cherish our time together and think of you every day dad.
    Ron

  15. Elizabeth says:

    It is my Grandpa that I miss this Father’s Day!!! He was the bestest of the best!! He loved everyone and everyone loved him. He told us stories all during our life till he died, which was in 1991 at age 88. My brothers and I could write a book about him. He lived a very busy, interesting life and had come in contact with so many people. And he was sooooo good at seeing the funny side, even in events that were not so funny when they happened. When I was in grade school and the neighbor kids found out that Grampie was due to arrive, they would set up waiting for him on our front porch!! I had to share him with my brothers and did not feel it all that fair I had to also share him with the neighbor kids too!! But I kept that thought to myself. He and Grandma came for a few weeks to Hawaii when hubby was stationed there back in the early 1970’s. It was not 3 days after he arrived until the neighbor kids there would ring the bell and ask if “Grandpa could come out to play.” I remember my Grandma saying to him, “For crying out loud, Ray, are we not to get a rest from this even here??” (Apparently that must have been happening in their neighborhood at home too!!) I so look forward to our reunion ONE glad day!!!

  16. karen says:

    Many of the pictures that you post from the West remind me of my family trips through mountains and desert. It was 1957 when Dad decided to take a job in Las Vegas. Mom and Dad packed 6 kids in a pink and white 1955 Dodge Coronet with no AC and traveled from Stillwater, MN to Las Vegas. I don’t know for sure how long it took but I do remember the sweaty little bodies in the back seat all wishing for more space. My sister was still in diapers, but I recall for the first time seeing disposable diapers used for her out of convenience. We only lived in Las Vegas about 18 months, then we moved to Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa, then finally back to MN. Throughout all of those years and beyond I learned that change doesn’t have to be scary and that a real man makes many sacrifices in order to take care of his family. Dad’s been gone for nearly 16 years. I think of him so often and am thankful for all of the wisdom he shared and the man he was.

  17. CJ says:

    Long gone but never forgotten! My best memory ever was hanging out with my dad in the breezeway where he would sit every evening reading either the newspaper or the atlas :O) It became a joke, “Dad’s planning another trip!” We drove miles and miles across the United States and Canada when I was a young child. And that’s where my love of reading an atlas became apparent for me as well! To this day, I can navigate with the best of them. I guess it always stays in your blood because I can’t wait to set out on our journey next year. And believe me, GPS, Android navigation, Google maps, etc. won’t match up to the many paper maps I’ll have in my lap! And the lasting memories of you Dad, when I see sights I remember as a child! ~cozygirl

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