Happy Birthday, Dad

The handsome young man in the picture above is my Dad.  Dad is celebrating his 98th birthday today.  The picture was made in 1938 as a Christmas present for my mother.

Dad was born in Texas, but while he was still a young boy the family moved to Arkansas.  They took the train to Arkansas, which Dad still remembers.  They then rode to their new home in the Ozarks in a covered wagon.  So he has experienced life from the covered wagon to space travel.  Dad met Mom when he was in the CCC working at a state park near her hometown in southern Indiana.

What I remember most about Dad is that he could do just about everything.  He built our house in Indiana mostly by himself.  In 1963 he was one of four people that his company took with them in a move from Indiana to Tennessee.  When he got close to retirement age he felt he wouldn’t have anything to do, so he taught himself to repair small appliances.  He once got a call on Thanksgiving Day from June Carter Cash asking him to fix a stove that had quit working and was threatening to ruin the Cash family’s Thanksgiving.  Dad made a house call and saved the day.  Mom made him give up his repair business when he turned 80, but even today people will stop him to tell him how much they appreciate the work he did for them.

Dad learned to use a computer when he was 90 and used it every day until he became legally blind about a year ago.  Until that time he was still fixing the roof of his house and doing other chores that we tried to tell him he shouldn’t be doing.  He just went ahead and did things anyway.

He has had to slow down since losing most of his eyesight.  Mom is also legally blind, and although my sister Janet and I would like them to live with Janet — she’s asked them to — they want to remain in their own home.  We have to admire their independence even though we do worry about them.  We check on them by phone every day and one of us goes every week to help them out.  Young adults at their church also help them out.  I guess they are doing about as good as can be expected under the circumstances.

Mom and Dad have been married for 71 years, and although it’s not her birthday I’m including this picture of Mom since the two of them are rarely if ever seen apart.  This picture was taken in February, 1940, about three months before Mom and Dad got married.

Last night Dad said that today was ‘just another day’.  I don’t agree — I think it’s a very special day.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Tags: American Life, Birthday, Dad, Family