The Fathers in My Life

I would like to honor the fathers in my life. First and foremost there was my Dad. I loved my Dad very much. He was always there for me. He grew up during the depression and that made a great impact on his life. I remember the stories that my dad told me about the depression. When I hear today’s recession compared to the great depression on TV, I cringe because today is nothing like my father described to me. His father lost his business, then they lost their house, and they ate banana’s for Sunday dinner. There were no safety nets like there are today for the unemployed. Because this made such an impact on my Father he decided that his children were not going to go without. He went without lunch for weeks and saved his lunch money to buy me a doll for Christmas. He made me a doll house with a hand saw (he didn’t have power tools at the time). He gave me everything he possibly could. Not only did he give me material things, he gave me his time, attention, advice, and love. He gave me history lessons at the dinner table. He loved history and I learned about history and current events through dinner time discussions. He was there for me when I got married. He walked me down the aisle and gave me away. He told my husband on our wedding day that if he (my husband) ever did anything to hurt me, he would have to answer to him (my father). After we were married for several years, my father told some friends of ours that when their daughters grew up he hoped they found someone like my husband. I picked a good man because I had a good father. My dad died of Cancer when he was 64 years old.

The other father in my live was my maternal grandfather. I was very close to my maternal grandparents. We lived in the same town and only a few blocks apart. I could walk or ride my bike to Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Grandpa was always kind to me and I could talk to Grandpa about anything. They had a screened in front porch with a swing. I would sit on the swing with Grandpa and talk. He had a big beer belly and I ask him how he got it. He would say he swallowed a watermelon seed and there was a big watermelon growing in there. He liked baseball, beer, and gardening. He had a beautiful yard. It was sad when he got old and developed Alzheimer’s disease. Eventually he didn’t remember us. When my children were little, Grandpa said he hoped he lived long enough that they would remember him. He died when they were 4 and 5. The other day my son said he remembers him. So Grandpa got his wish. Grandpa died at 84.

My other Grandfather died when I was eight years old. I didn’t know him as well as the other one, but I do remember him. I remember going to his house which was like a little cottage. He also liked to garden and his yard was beautiful too. He liked to build things and was quite good at it. My father inherited some of his tools and I think we still have some. He was a kind man and he reminded me a lot of my father. He also died of Cancer when he was 64.