It just got a bit misty in here. My Dad’s first car was a ’64 Mustang. My brothers and I talked about it a few times – but Leukemia killed him before we were able to do something like that.
VanderleunMay 24, 2018, 8:23 AM
I know what you mean. My own father died too soon for me to know him as a man and as a father.
ghostsniperMay 24, 2018, 8:05 PM
It’s one of my greatest regrets. My dad died from a heart attack at age 47 in 1980, when I was still an irresponsible punk. He never got to know the real me or my wife or our kid or our grand kids and he and I weren’t getting along when he died.
The worst part?
I remember him telling me the same thing about his dad (they weren’t getting along when his dad died), and me vowing that that wasn’t going to happen to us (my dad and I). But it went down like that anyway. That regret is always there, even 38 years later, every day.
I had a 66′ Mustang convertible and it was a beautiful metalflake dark green with black top and interior and Keystone mags with Tigerpaws. My dad bought it for $1000 in 1971 and sold it to me on payments cause I didn’t have any credit.
Rob De WittMay 24, 2018, 10:27 PM
Regrets or not, I hope you can all by this point recognize how lucky you were to have a father. You didn’t do anything to deserve it, you just got issued a winning lottery ticket.
Be grateful.
ghostsniperMay 25, 2018, 4:51 AM
You’re absolutely right Rob, and I am very thankful.
Almost every day.
In the 25 years I knew my dad he taught me so much, some of it I’m not even aware of.
2 days ago while replacing a door knob I was holding the handle down to install the long screw that is inconveniently behind the handle (it was a lever set) and showed my wife how I extend the index finger on my left hand, which was holding the lever down, to steady the tip of the phillips screwdriver so that it could be inserted into the screw cause my right hand was shaking a little. A little trick my dad taught me when I was but a wee lad, and now *passed onto my wife*. I taught my son this trick many years ago.
THAT is how family is supposed to work, and I wonder what fills that void in men that did not have that guidance? I imagine that same sort of thing is also true of women. I know both my sisters still make recipes that my mother used to make, and probably a host of other things that are used everyday. What are all these things replaced with? Voids don’t stay vacant for long.
**In the past 10 years I have become very aware of my aging, and believing my wife will outlive me. I have been teaching her little things, and preparing her for my eventual absence. It’s sort of a little joking thing between us, with serious results. We joke about it now, but reality will always have it’s way. We bide our time as we have it, and we live like we want while we can, as long as we can.
Rob De WittMay 25, 2018, 10:17 AM
I wonder what fills that void in men that did not have that guidance
And the answer is, “Nothing”; your illustration of being taught how to use a screwdriver is the perfect example. I’ve figured everything out for myself, and it shows, brother.
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Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
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Down in the sounding foam of primal things I reach my hands and play with pebbles of destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
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Poets wrote down words that did fit
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Many’s the time
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Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
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In America
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In America
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In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
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Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
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Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
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Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
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Gerard Van der Leun
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It just got a bit misty in here. My Dad’s first car was a ’64 Mustang. My brothers and I talked about it a few times – but Leukemia killed him before we were able to do something like that.
I know what you mean. My own father died too soon for me to know him as a man and as a father.
It’s one of my greatest regrets. My dad died from a heart attack at age 47 in 1980, when I was still an irresponsible punk. He never got to know the real me or my wife or our kid or our grand kids and he and I weren’t getting along when he died.
The worst part?
I remember him telling me the same thing about his dad (they weren’t getting along when his dad died), and me vowing that that wasn’t going to happen to us (my dad and I). But it went down like that anyway. That regret is always there, even 38 years later, every day.
I had a 66′ Mustang convertible and it was a beautiful metalflake dark green with black top and interior and Keystone mags with Tigerpaws. My dad bought it for $1000 in 1971 and sold it to me on payments cause I didn’t have any credit.
Regrets or not, I hope you can all by this point recognize how lucky you were to have a father. You didn’t do anything to deserve it, you just got issued a winning lottery ticket.
Be grateful.
You’re absolutely right Rob, and I am very thankful.
Almost every day.
In the 25 years I knew my dad he taught me so much, some of it I’m not even aware of.
2 days ago while replacing a door knob I was holding the handle down to install the long screw that is inconveniently behind the handle (it was a lever set) and showed my wife how I extend the index finger on my left hand, which was holding the lever down, to steady the tip of the phillips screwdriver so that it could be inserted into the screw cause my right hand was shaking a little. A little trick my dad taught me when I was but a wee lad, and now *passed onto my wife*. I taught my son this trick many years ago.
THAT is how family is supposed to work, and I wonder what fills that void in men that did not have that guidance? I imagine that same sort of thing is also true of women. I know both my sisters still make recipes that my mother used to make, and probably a host of other things that are used everyday. What are all these things replaced with? Voids don’t stay vacant for long.
**In the past 10 years I have become very aware of my aging, and believing my wife will outlive me. I have been teaching her little things, and preparing her for my eventual absence. It’s sort of a little joking thing between us, with serious results. We joke about it now, but reality will always have it’s way. We bide our time as we have it, and we live like we want while we can, as long as we can.
I wonder what fills that void in men that did not have that guidance
And the answer is, “Nothing”; your illustration of being taught how to use a screwdriver is the perfect example. I’ve figured everything out for myself, and it shows, brother.