# Call Your Dad



## oldhippy (Jun 15, 2014)

Been twenty two years now he passed away. But you know ever so often, I want to pick up the phone and call him.  just sayin.  Ed


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## DarkShadow (Jun 15, 2014)

Its been 7 years my dad passed and wish I could just say hello.Thanks for sharing ED,nice photo and oh man, the cars back in the day.:thumbup:


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## Dagwood56 (Jun 15, 2014)

Thanks for sharing. It will be 19 years this coming Friday, since my dad passed. It seems I miss him more and more every year.

My Dad in 1952


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## PixelRabbit (Jun 15, 2014)

Great picture Ed.

It's been 35 years since I lost my Dad, this is one of the few pictures I have of him, he is in the drivers seat and his best friend Bob is in the back.  They must have really loved taking pictures with their cars back then! 



Dad and Bob by Judi Smelko, on Flickr


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## pgriz (Jun 15, 2014)

I visited my Dad last weekend with my Mom.  He died ten years ago, and it was the first weekend when it didn't rain or blow and we went to visit the cemetery where he's "resting".  The spirea shrub we planted a few years ago has grown exuberantly and had to be trimmed back a bit to not overwhelm the other sites as well.  He was a complex man, and in the things he did well, he was brilliant.  But he was also a man of his times, and family life was not always easy.  We knew his heart was in the right place, even though he didn't really know how to show his love.  There were lessons he taught me, unintentionally, and I believe when my time came to be a father, I applied those with much better results.  And yet, I still long for the conversations I wish we could have had, but didn't know how to find the words.


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## JustJazzie (Jun 15, 2014)

Lovey pictures in This thread.  My dad died when I was 8. So it will be 18 years this October. His death is the reason I got into photography. There were so few pictures of him when he passed, and the most recent family picture that we had was from 2-3 years before his death. I always wished there were more to look at.

Edit: this took longer to dig up than I thought! Besides wedding pictures, his funeral portrait, and one of him ripping out a window- this is the only one I have.


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## limr (Jun 15, 2014)

It's been almost 8 years since my father died, longer since he was "gone" from Alzheimer's. I wrote about him here: For #100: Portrait of a polyglot. | As a Linguist...

Here are some pictures from that post:





We're a little...loony.


His passport photo.


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## limr (Jun 15, 2014)

Oh, and for Ed and everyone else in this thread:  :hug::


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## Warhorse (Jun 15, 2014)

This is the only picture of my dad I have digitized, will have to work on that. 

Anyways, he has been gone 22 years also.


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## IzzieK (Jun 15, 2014)

Oh I so envy you people for having a dad. I didn't have one. Heard only about him in "whispers".....he was "only a labourer" of my grandparents and he doesn't deserved my mother. Nevertheless I am taking my husband out tonight at a very nice Chinese restaurant. He is my "sugar daddy"  as I always refer to him as publicly. Him and the boys took him to lunch after church today. I am taking him to dinner. Just him and me.


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## sonicbuffalo (Jun 15, 2014)

12 years since Dad passed away....I'm like Ed....would like to talk to him again....but not on the phone....he was awesome to talk to.  Love you Dad!


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## DarkShadow (Jun 15, 2014)

Strong Handsome men there folks,just keep them close to the heart and there always with you. A Very heart felt post by Oldhippy


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## sm4him (Jun 15, 2014)

About 9.5 years since my dad passed. I still miss him like crazy. I can't say I'd like to talk to him on the phone one more time, because IF he answered the phone at all, it was only to say, "Here, let me let you talk to your Mom."   But oh, what I would give for a few extra minutes with him, for one more hug.
He wasn't perfect--but he was well-deserving of the "hero" title that I bestowed on him from the time I was a little girl. I was the youngest of 5, and he never denied that I had him wrapped around my little finger. My sister and I were his princesses. He told Mom, when my sister was born, that she had to do the disciplining of us, because he could handle the boys, but he couldn't say "no" to his daughter.
He was of the "Greatest Generation," a generation of men who often didn't know how to show their love, as Paul mentioned in his post-and yet, my dad was always quick with a hug, for me and for every friend I brought home with me. In later years especially, he told me often he was proud of me and loved me.  And he loved my kids like crazy. I'm so grateful that they got to know their Papa.  My youngest was especially close to him, because he (my youngest) was the spitting image of his grandfather at the same age. But then, my dad loved pretty much ALL children, and kids were always quick to warm up to him and climb in his lap (or talk him into feeding them ice cream for breakfast, lol!).

There's a Dan Fogelberg song, "Leader of the Band" that has two lines which sum up my opinion of my dad:
"His gentle means of sculpting souls took me years to understand..."
"My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man..."
I'm just a living legacy to the Leader of the Band.

Spend every minute you can with those you love, and never EVER miss a chance to say "I love you."

My dad and mom in 2001, at their 50th wedding anniversary celebration


Dad with all his "grandkids" (some aren't technically grandkids, but grand-nieces or nephews. Didn't matter, they were all loved!)
That's my youngest, next to him photo right, with his arm around his Papa, and my oldest to the right of that in the gray shirt, with a younger cousin on his lap.


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## sm4him (Jun 15, 2014)

limr said:


> It's been almost 8 years since my father died, longer since he was "gone" from Alzheimer's. I wrote about him here: For #100: Portrait of a polyglot. | As a Linguist...
> 
> Here are some pictures from that post:
> 
> ...



Terrific story and tribute.
My heart goes out to you, dealing with Alzheimer's. My dad had that and Parkinson's, but in a way, we were blessed--the Parkinson's and vascular dementia got him first. His Alzheimer's was advanced enough that he didn't really know what world he was in, but he never forgot who any of us were.


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## SCraig (Jun 15, 2014)

Yeah, like others, I wish I could.  My father died 25 years ago, my mother 4 years ago.

Alzheimer's disease is one of the worst things that can forced on a family.  I don't know how it is for the victim but for the family it is horrible. The last words my mom said to me, a few days before she died, were, "Who are you?"


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## oldhippy (Jun 15, 2014)

This thread has such great feeing to it. The longer I'm on TPF, the more I like the people on here. 
I think it helps to put things in words, 
Have a great day.  Ed


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## MSnowy (Jun 15, 2014)

l lost my Superhero 2 year ago, my dad


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## limr (Jun 15, 2014)

Thanks Sharon. I had to laugh when I read what your father would say on the phone: "Here's your mother." My father wasn't much of a phone talker either. First, he'd ask me a few questions about my car: "How's the car? Did you change the oil? How does the clutch feel?" Then he'd always ask, "Are you happy?" And then he'd pass me onto my mother.

It's all he cared about - that I was taking care of my car and that I was happy. 



SCraig said:


> Yeah, like others, I wish I could.  My father died 25 years ago, my mother 4 years ago.
> 
> Alzheimer's disease is one of the worst things that can forced on a family.  I don't know how it is for the victim but for the family it is horrible. The last words my mom said to me, a few days before she died, were, "Who are you?"



I'm so sorry :hug:: My father was beyond that point when he died. He was very healthy and strong, so he lived with it for 10 years after diagnosis. By the time he died, he couldn't talk at all and was bedridden.


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