You should have known him!

[Tryharder62]

He had a pretty tough life. He didn't complain. He worked hard every day for his family. He stood by his very ill and sometimes "crabby" wife for 50 years through her illness. He made sure his kids had an education though he had to leave his education early. He was a quiet man, but people always said he would give anyone the shirt off his back. He fought his own illness with courage! If you got to meet him you would like him. I sure miss him.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQi4T_HMSKCGt0dDldXRhZDfSWMPh5UWNOuCEoYc44ADPaDhqzCsw Happy Father's Day!!!!

 

[moocha01]

Lovely

Sounds a nice man x

 

[HoneyFortune]

 

[Queersetti]

It is our loss that we did not.

 

[parodyluvr75]

 

[Tryharder62]

Thanks! Just starting the father's day thread early I guess.

Just to share a story..... One day my brother and I were messing around in the things that were in our garage attic. Our families new car was in the garage. My brother accidently dropped a 20 pound flower pot on my dad's new car. Mom did one of those "Wait until your father get's home." We were scared. Dad finally came home looked at the car and didn't say anything. He went in the back yard and sat under a big tree for a couple hours to collect himself. I think he knew our worry was punishment enough. He never said a word and for some reason he never got the car fixed even though we had insurance.

 

[Tryharder62]

Got any childhood stories? You know the one's that are retold over and over when the family get's together?

 

[Fata Morgana]

I miss my Dad terrible. Will take him some roses tomorrow. I'd sell my soul for an hour with him, drinking The Tea and having a gab.

He was the best and made me laugh my head off. I miss his big shovelly hands and his penchant for violence. Once I was moaning about Phil to him in the nursing home and he said "Child if I had my legs under me I'd be down there and destroy the left side of his face".

I love how specific he was.

 

[DesEsseintes]

I adored my father. Joined the International Brigades to fight Franco aged 16 - joined the British army before the outbreak of WWII because he could see which way the wind was blowing, and turned down a History scholarship at Cambridge to do it. Repeatedly refused commissions and remained a tank sergeant. Became a political lecturer amongst the troops in the run-up to the '45 election, helping to turn hundreds from apolitical cynics into enthusiasts for the new dawn of the NHS et al. Quit the Communist Party of Great Britain in '56, in the wake of the bloody crushing of the Hungarian Uprising, but continued to be a proud communist all his days and, if anything, became more radical with age.

He became a father late in life but, thanks to his teaching, remained young in both body and spirit until a lifetime of drinking and smoking caught up with him. I will never forget him talking about mathematics and wild flowers, history and mountains, all the way to school, and being continually disappointed that none of my teachers could match his knowledge, enthusiasm and love of learning. And when I got my First, in spite of the fact that he did not believe in praising one's children overmuch, and in spite of the fact that he was gravely ill with cancer, he insisted on staggering to the nearest pub and buying me a pint, before embarrassing me by telling everyone why.

He was a man of principle, integrity, good humour and love. When the headteacher of his school found out about his affair with my mother and insisted one of them must go (meaning her, the very junior and naive new teacher) my father resigned on the spot, and prompted a spontaneous walk-out until he was reinstated. At strikes, he would be the one leading the renditions of the Internationale and the Red Flag, but also maintained scrupulous politeness towards the police who were, he always maintained, working men doing their job.

Domestically, he was a man of simple tastes. He preferred tinned fruit to fresh, Mother's Pride to home baked bread, and thought that Angel's Delight and Peek Frean blancmange were the pinnacle of the dessert family. And in his final months, he insisted on teaching my mother how to change a wheel, check the oil, etc, because he knew she would have to stand alone soon.

If I can ever grow to be half the man he was, I shall be very proud.

 

[Fata Morgana]

I miss Angel Delight. Butterscotch flavour.

 

[DesEsseintes]

I miss Angel Delight. Butterscotch flavour.

Still available in all good supermarkets.

 

[Fata Morgana]

Still available in all good supermarkets.

I've not seen it! I shall look harder. I bought Camp coffee the other day!

 

[DesEsseintes]

I've not seen it! I shall look harder. I bought Camp coffee the other day!

You see, he tried to convince me that was better than the real thing, but I think it must be one of those 'You had to be there' moments.

 

[Fata Morgana]

You see, he tried to convince me that was better than the real thing, but I think it must be one of those 'You had to be there' moments.

It's better in memory. Horribly sweet.

 

[albertaboy]

He had a pretty tough life. He didn't complain. He worked hard every day for his family. He stood by his very ill and sometimes "crabby" wife for 50 years through her illness. He made sure his kids had an education though he had to leave his education early. He was a quiet man, but people always said he would give anyone the shirt off his back. He fought his own illness with courage! If you got to meet him you would like him. I sure miss him.

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQi4T_HMSKCGt0dDldXRhZDfSWMPh5UWNOuCEoYc44ADPaDhqzCsw Happy Father's Day!!!!

All except him being gone describe my fantastic Father.

 

[Aphro]

My Dad's been gone for twelve years. The anniversary of his death was on Tuesday, but, the year he died, he actually died on Father's Day.

I fucking hate Father's Day.

I have continued to try and make happy happy for the sake of my kids, but all Father's Day will ever be for me is the memory of rushing to the hospital, and being allowed to see my father's body just before they took him away. The great irony being, I had not been allowed into the hospital to see him while he was still alive as Toronto was in the midst of the SARS outbreak of 2003. I never understood why I couldn't see him alive, but they let me in when he was dead.

I miss him. He was the most kind, gentle, and loving man I have ever known. Patient, level headed, gregarious, charming, smart, resourceful...I just hope that he knew how much I loved him.

 

[Tryharder62]

My Dad's been gone for twelve years. The anniversary of his death was on Tuesday, but, the year he died, he actually died on Father's Day.

I fucking hate Father's Day.

I have continued to try and make happy happy for the sake of my kids, but all Father's Day will ever be for me is the memory of rushing to the hospital, and being allowed to see my father's body just before they took him away. The great irony being, I had not been allowed into the hospital to see him while he was still alive as Toronto was in the midst of the SARS outbreak of 2003. I never understood why I couldn't see him alive, but they let me in when he was dead.

I miss him. He was the most kind, gentle, and loving man I have ever known. Patient, level headed, gregarious, charming, smart, resourceful...I just hope that he knew how much I loved him.

I can't even imagine that situation. It doesn't make sense to me either. You sound like you had a special relationship with your Dad. When my Dad died I found some red heart stones almost like big beads. I put one in his pocket and gave one to close family members. It was only symbolic. Even without them there I think that love lives on. There is a connection. I have a feeling he knows you loved him.

 

[Noor]

My Dad's been gone for twelve years. The anniversary of his death was on Tuesday, but, the year he died, he actually died on Father's Day.

I fucking hate Father's Day.

I have continued to try and make happy happy for the sake of my kids, but all Father's Day will ever be for me is the memory of rushing to the hospital, and being allowed to see my father's body just before they took him away. The great irony being, I had not been allowed into the hospital to see him while he was still alive as Toronto was in the midst of the SARS outbreak of 2003. I never understood why I couldn't see him alive, but they let me in when he was dead.

I miss him. He was the most kind, gentle, and loving man I have ever known. Patient, level headed, gregarious, charming, smart, resourceful...I just hope that he knew how much I loved him.

I am so sorry. Hugs.

 

[Noor]

My father is anti -ritual. I will send him an ecard and he will thank me, but he won't mind if I do or don't. When I was at home, we never celebrated such holidays, I was lucky if they remembered my birthday and I am their first born!

My parents are a unit and I am lucky to have them.

 

[butters]

to all those fathers who tried/are trying to do a good job of the role, i salute you.

to all of you who miss them, a - be glad in your hearts for their memory - you had something wonderful many never experienced.

 

[Saint Peter]

I fucking hate Father's Day.

My first without him. The finality of it is still sinking in.

 

[Fata Morgana]

My first without him. The finality of it is still sinking in.

 

[lovecraft68]

I remember my foster dad(forget my blood father ugh) was taking my cousin to a movie and my father took a short cut through a kind of crappy neighborhood and there was this guy sitting on the sidewalk.

Ratty clothes, grubby looking and had the classic brown bag next to him, looked like he was barely awake, just sitting there smashed.

My cousin-pretty much a dink most of the time-yells out the window, "Hey look at the drunk loser!"

My old man slams on the brakes backs the car up and tells my cousin to get his ass out of the car and apologize to the guy or he would whip his ass right there in the car.

So my cousin gets out there and stutters out some kind of a lame apology with my father and me behind him and the guy nods then looks at my father and thanks him for treating him like a man.

We get back in the car and he tells the both of us that no one is better than anyone else. My cousin gives him a "come on, you see that guy?" his reply was we're not better than that man, we're more fortunate and we should always remember that.

I also remember him pulling over in the winter when he saw a guy panhandling on the corner in just a long sleeve shirt on what had to be below twenty day. He got out asked the guy where his coat was and he said it was stolen by another homeless person. My father takes his brand new coat off and gives it to the guy.

These days we see a lot more of those people, they're on every damn corner in parts of Providence here and I see a lot of people drive by and mock them. I give them a couple of dollars, buy them a coffee and a sandwich sometimes and there was one girl that was about twenty that said she lived in some type of flop house.

I had my daughter who was eighteen with me at the time and she saw the girl was wearing flip flops in the winter. When we got home she ran upstairs and came down with a bag of shoes and clothes she was getting rid of and was going to drop off at salvation army and asked if we could go back so she could give them to the girl.

Next time I saw her she was wearing my daughters clothes including a nice pair of boots. I was proud of my daughter told her so and she said she learned it from me and of course I had to give her grandfather the credit.

My old man taught me what people say now as "Pay it forward"

 

[lovecraft68]

My first without him. The finality of it is still sinking in.

My wife's first without hers as well. She's choosing to focus not on his death, but his life and all the good memories. I hope you are doing the same.

It will never go away, but it will get easier. Hang in there.

 

[MonaLittle]

My first without him. The finality of it is still sinking in.