Today is My Fathers Birthday

Today my Dad would have been 80 years old. I was hopeful he would make it well into his 90's. Unfortuantely he passed away while waiting to have a very routine gallbladder surgery, on March 20th of this year. Today is very very hard for me. I was and still am a Daddy's Girl. My Dad was the most important person in my life. Everything I do in life, all my decisions, my morals and values, are driven by what he taught me. And there will never be another teacher as good as my Dad. He was generous, loving, funny, stubborn, gentle, silly. He didn't know squat about politics, but would argue for hours, and piss off everyone in sight. Than he would grin and say "Don't get your panties in a knot, I really don't know what the hell I'm talking about, so just don't pay any attention to me"! He loved to tell jokes and play jokes on everyone. Especially his family. We used to go to the Soup Plantation every Sunday for lunch/brunch. He loved the muffins and always wanted to take some home. Of course he did not want to pay for them. He went through the buffet line, took a half dozen, wrapped them in a napkin and stuck them in my purse. Of course he never told me he did this. Than when we were in the parking lot, he would sneak up behind me and take the muffins out. Well one day, I was walking out of the Soup Plantation and they stopped me at the door. My Dad hurried out to the parking lot and left me in the restaurant. They asked me if they could check my purse. I was stunned. Well lo and behold there were 6 muffins stuffed in my purse. I was so embarrased and was ready to kill my Dad. I apologized and paid for the muffins. When I got out to the parking lot, my Dad was standing there all innocent. When I confronted him, he just grinned and said "Don't you like muffins?" He called me Scooter because when I was little I scooted around on my butt instead of crawling. He took me with him everywhere when I was growing up. I even went into work with him. He was in the Air Force for 30 years and he took me to all his offices on the bases we were stationed at. That is where I leared to type and file. I was his unofficial secretary for years. After he retired he went to work for UC Irvine and I got a secretarial job there when I graduated from High School. We carpooled to work everyday for 2 years until I transferred to the University Medical Center. I cherish those moments we had together. We had long talks about life and laughed our heads off. My Dad never met a stranger. Everyone was his friend. I approach life the same way. You are so much happier when you are happy and smiling and people respond to that. At my Dad's funeral the church was overflowing. There was a lot of crying, but also so much joy and laughter. Because that was what my Dad was all about. He could be stubborn as heck, and gruff at times, but you never ever doubted that he loved and cared about you. He had employees move on to other jobs, but they always came back to visit my Dad. He left his legacy of joy and fun on everyone he met. He loved his family unconditionally. My mother and him would have been married 60 years, last Friday, November 5th. They got married when my Dad was 19 and my mother was 16. They always said they would probably have a 75th anniversary, because they married so young. I had a hard time sleeping last night and was teary this morning, but not anymore. I am going to spend the day joyfully remembering all the good times I had with my Dad. I had 52 years with him and have enough memories to last me until I take my last breath. I hope that I can have the same impression on my daughter, that my Dad had on me. Take care Daddy, I will see you in my dreams. Until we meet again.

Love Scooter