Good Memories

1965...I was 4 years old, we were on a ship to Germany, all of us.  You were 29 years old, with a wife and 3 little boys.  Just a "poor E-5", but we didn't know any better.  As young as I think a 29 year old is now, you were a giant back then.

I remember when we hit the hurricane in the Northern Atlantic, you had no fear. You helped us "batten down the hatches" and put on our life jackets when we stood on deck, preparing to disembark if needed....but we never had to.  There we stood, all of us, our family - facing whatever we had to, together.  Complete trust that Daddy had it under control.

It's funny, the things I remember from that trip.

That was the first time I remember you telling me you like Lemon Lime drinks instead of cola drinks.
That never changed.  Even a few weeks ago, when we ate some burgers together, you still drank Lemon Lime.

I remember when our ship left New York, you held me up so I could see the fanfare as people waved goodbye to us.

I remember when we docked in Germany, you got the car and we took off, a little family in a strange land, but it was okay, you had it all under control.

We had great times - Sunday afternoon picnics on the mountain, cooking burgers on the little charcoal grills, touring German Castles, seeing bombed out bunkers from WWI and WWII, and you telling us the stories behind the fallen heroes.  I remember the silence of Dachau, the concentration camp, and the awesome engineering marvels in Rome, the Vatican, the Catacombs, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Pizza in Naples, snow in Switzerland, and camping in Italy.

Good memories.

I remember the trip back to the US, and how in the 4th grade, I attended my first "American" school.  We lived south of Tucson and that was the year you drove us to the shopping center and bought me the first "cool" bike!  I was 8 years old and had my first Stingray Bike with a Banana Seat, and high rise handlebars.

You made it easy to be "cool".

It wasn't too long after that you had to leave for VietNam.  I was 8, the oldest was 10, the baby was 6.  It was hard, that year without you.  I remember talking with you on the phone through a 2 way radio, having to say "over" when we were through so the technicians could release the microphone so you could talk back to us.  I remember those were the days we sent tapes back and forth in the mail, and I remember the one from you when the air raid sirens went off while you were talking and we heard the rockets coming in.  Later we heard you describe the attack you had just experienced.

I remember how happy we were to see you.  How you slept so incredibly long the next day...

I remember lots of good memories, always the coolest toys, and even though you complained, we always had the trendy clothes.

I remember dogs, many dogs, and home made skate boards, tree houses, incredible hunting trips with our BB guns, summers when the pool was more of a home than our own house, any musical instrument and lessons we wanted, football, baseball, basketball, and track.

We were boys and you helped us be anything we wanted.

Motorcycles at 15, you parking your car in the driveway so I could build my own "man-cave" in the garage to practice our first rock band.

Teaching me how to use single frame action 8mm cameras to make movies from GI Joes...stuff nobody else ever thought of!

I remember the time you thought Teriaki was the ultimate sauce...it felt like we ate teriaki EVERYTHING for a year!  I remember some of your experimental bbq dishes...there are somethings that still scare me!

We have a lot of good memories, we lived great lives, and you made it happen.

Thanks Dad, this life was not an accident - you chose it.

To quote your 3 year old great granddaughter, my granddaughter, "High Five Granddaddy - Good Job!"

Hang in there Dad - we are still here with you.