Remembering Dad

Today is my father's birthday. If he was still with us he would be 66 years old.

My father at his 54th birthday. He always made stupid faces in front of a camera.

I think of him often and miss him terribly at times.

I thought instead of a sad, mushy post about my father, I would share a funny story with you from my childhood.

When I was about 11ish, we lived in a rural community (yeah Nina) on a couple acres. My parents decided they would buy a couple calves and raise them.

So they had went to pick them up and got home fairly late. We had stayed at the neighbors until they returned.

Dad had ran electric fence in advance that enclosed the access to the barn for the calves. It was dark and they had gotten the animals settled in the barn.

My dad told my mom to go up to the house where the controls for the electric fence were located. He was wearing his hunting hat - for those of you who don't know what that is, it is basically a hard hat with a spot light in front.

He told her when he got the fence closed up and ready to go, he would flash his light to her by bobbing his head.

Well picture my mother standing in the garage looking out the back window watching for the signal.

Picture my father with both hands on the electric wire fence placing the final run into the brackets on the post -- when a bug flew into his face.

What do you do when a bug flies into your face?

Yes, he waved his head back and....yes in this motion...his light flashed up and down.

So my mother did what she was supposed to...she plugged in the fence.

She immediately heard yelling and expletives coming from the darkness.

She unplugged the fence.

Happy Birthday Dad!