My Dad was a Beatle!

Day 23

Did you know that my dad was part of the Beatles? I love this photo of my dad and I am sure he will kill me for publishing it.



On my sister's blog last Saturday she blogged about some of her memories about our dad in celebration of his 38th birthday. Strange, he has been 38 years old for YEARS! And I am only a few years behind!

I didn't want to step on her toes and steal any of the thunder from her fun column. But a good idea is a good idea! So this column is dedicated to my dad!

In future columns I will share memories about hunting and fishing, bowling and recycling, the Star Wars rides, and some other fun times. This column will be what I learned from my old man. He has taught me a lot but these are the ones that stand out the most.



Hard Work. My dad taught me the importance of hard work. The guy can certainly work hard. There have been times where he has worked many jobs just so he could earn money. He takes great pride in his work. I have had two great opportunities to work with my dad. He helped me get my job at Dutro and it was fun to work with him there. I worked in the evenings but I still got to see him for a couple of hours in the afternoon when I got to work. What impressed me was when I would ask people around what they thought of Paul (not knowing that I was his son) and every time, his co-workers said the same thing. Very nice and hard working. Dad had the respect of all those that worked for him. It doesn't matter how fast you are, it matters that it is done correct. I also work with him now and I cannot express how thankful I am for this time I get to share with my dad.



Showing Affection. My dad was never embarrassed to show affection, no matter how old I am. Funny story, Kristy and I dropped in on Dad at Dutro to tell him that we were engaged. I warned Kristy that he would hug her and she kinda laughed it off. Sure enough, in the middle of everyone, he hugged and kissed us both! My son will never have to wonder if I love him, just as I felt (and still do) as a child.

Details! Details! Details! I used to love watching (and scaring) my dad while he worked as a Landscape Architect in the basement. He was so precise and careful. My dad pays attention to the details in everything he does. Some say he might over analyze things but at least he pays attention to the small stuff. I remember when he helped me with a school science project about Mars. Unfortunately, I informed the family of it the night before (Ugh... ...Killarney again) but my parents helped me get it all finished. I was satisfied with what I had but my dad was not. We worked way past midnight and finally got it done. And I scored an almost perfect score, all because of the my dad. He gets the details and has taught me that the details are important.

Like I said before, my dad has taught me a lot. One of them, surprisingly is music. Why is that surprising? Because Jennifer and I used to make fun of ALL the music my dad would listen too. From Hugo Montenegro to the Shirelle's to the Bellamy Brothers to the Four Tops to Trini Lopez and to some classical music. And guess what? I have them all on my iPod. I have learned to appreciate all types of music and I find that my tastes in music have been heavily influenced by my dad. I am lucky to work with him at nights, we have very similar tastes in music and it is fun to listen to the ol' classics.



I could go on and on but I don't want to embarrass the guy. So I won't bring up the Cranberry pie or Lentil Soup. Or that time when the bat scared you. Or that other time I put a firecracker on the bathroom door. Or your strange dreams about snakes. I would say more but I still have over 300 more columns to do, I need to save some of those!

Thanks Dad! I appreciate all you do for me and the stuff you have taught me.

Love ya!