Monkeywrench

Some of my family members have recently done posts about other family members. I decided I should do the same. Last year I made up nicknames for everyone in my family and then had them try to guess who was who. It was a lot of fun. I dubbed my dad Monkeywrench because he can fix just about anything. Honestly, I don't think he's ever come across something he couldn't fix. Now the monkey is there because my dad has a tendency to act very goofy sometimes. Two of his idols were Heathcliff Huxtable and Earnest P. Worrell. When I was a little girl my dad even had an outfit referred to as a monkey suit.
I grew up in a small town called Middlebury. My dad also grew up there and knew just about everyone in town. As we walked around town everybody said hi to him. I took pride in knowing that my dad was a respected man. He is a good, honest, man of integrity. The funny thing is, it seemed whenever any kids were visiting he turned into a clown. It was hilarious. He also got that way if he found certain cereals in the cupboard or if we were about to have ice cream. I wish I could show a video clip of my dad's hyper antics. I don't have one though, but it's something that really needs to be seen in person. No words can describe.
Yesterday I drove by Cardinal Bus where he worked during my youth. It brought back a lot of good memories. We lived two houses down and we often went to bother him about something. I also remember calling him at work to ask questions. One time I called and asked for dad. The receptionist asked if I meant Sam. There were other dads there but ours probably got the most disturbances. He never complained about it though.
My mom sure does love my dad and she let us all know it. I remember one time she sang a song to him in front of a large audience. I'm sure he was embarrassed but he humored our mom and was a good sport about it. The girls in our family were spoiled with such an example of what a true man is that I know some of the husbands feel like they can't hold a candle. I don't think my dad feels that way though. He has always been very humble. I think that his humility might be a result of his gratitude. He has had a very blessed life.
I know that I am grateful that he was the patriarch of our family. He had a father's intuition that sometimes amazed me. He seemed to know things that I never told him. He just knew. I wish that every girl could be as lucky to have a father like him. I'm not just talking him up either. He really is that awesome. I think that since most of the people who read this blog are family I don't really need to convince anybody because you already know that.
Now I could go on and on about my dad but I don't have all day so I'll finish it up by saying I love my dad very much and I wish I could see him more often. I know we'll live close again someday and I'm just being patient until he finally moves back out here.