Lawnmower Dump

Dad sure did LOVE mowing the lawn.  He liked it done just right.  He didn't like the circles that I mowed in, that's for sure.

When we were young, I can remember him pulling us behind the lawnmower in his red wagon while he mowed the lawn.  We would have so much fun riding in that thing, making up games to play and jumping out and then hopping back in again.

Then....when we were riding nicely; when we were least expecting it.....DUMP!!  Dad would pull the pin out of the wagon and dump us all out.  I'm not sure if we thought it was funny, but dad sure did get a kick out of it!

That Special Touch 2

This picture was taken on Sunday, during the camping trip. We were all starting to say good bye, so I put Enzlee in front of Dad just so he could see her. To my surprise, he quickly lifted his arms and grabbed her. (I hadn't seen him do that in a long time, as he was very weak). He took her and gave her a big hug and said " You are so warm, I think I'm going to hold on to you forever." Almost made me cry.

Grand Dogs

That Special Touch

He just had a way.....his grandkids would sit in his arms forever....and he could always calm them down and get them to sleep in his arms.

Katrina (New Orleans)

Dad, mom, Jer & I went to New Orleans in 2007 to help out in the Katrina aftermath.  I remember them giving dad a chain saw when they heard he had "experience".  I don't think they realized what sort of experience he actually had.  Everyone that worked with dad that day could do nothing but brag and be amazed.  I can't tell you how times I heard, "You should have seen that guy with a chain saw.  It was amazing!  He cut down tree after tree in record time!"

I think dad's only complaint about that entire trip was that they didn't work him hard enough!  Nope....he didn't even complain about walking around down Bourbon Street with all the crazies or about carrying a full grown man, Danny, around on his back down Bourbon Street!

It's not a great picture, but here's dad hard at work in New Orleans.

Tough Guy

Dads handyman knowledge still blows my mind to this day.  How one man could know so much about everything is beyond my understanding.  Because I loved having this knowledge onhand, I always made sure dad was present while I had a project going on.

Not only was dad smart but he was one tough guy.  He could lift twice as many boards as me, do twice as much work as me, and endure 100 times more pain than me.  I remember a time, while building my house, dad was nailing walls together with the air nailer.  A 16 penny, framing nail blew through the wood and into his hand.  He never even flinched.  He finished putting the wall together and then went to take care of it only because he was bleeding everywhere.  Then he went back to building another wall.  That is one tough dude.

I never was able to take him in arm wrestling either. 

Warf

I need to give a little background on Warf.  Dad used to love Star Trek.  If Star Trek was on TV and dad was home, you were watching it whether you liked it or not.  Anyway, his favorite character on the show was a clingon named Warf.  He was one tough dude. 

So anything that dad thought was tough was named after Warf.  He used to have a Makita work light that he would call the Warf light.  He would also refer to his jeep as the Warf mobile.  I remember he used to pat the dash and give the Warf mobile praises after it did something tough like pull a car out of the ditch or get unstuck from a snow pile.  I remember one time I gave the dash a pat and dad looked at me said, "not to hard".   He would always make funny little comments like that. 

I took a lot of stock in what dad thought was tough equipment.  I started copying all purchases that he would consider tough.  For example, I got a jeep CJ5 when I was sixteen, my first chainsaw was a husqvarna, and my lawn mower was the same exact brand as his.  I had faith that if he thought highly of a product, it must be quality.  His oppinion never failed me.