My Dad

[mmisterbungl]

Whenever I'm home for the Holidays or just a weekend to visit my folks, I like to spend as much time with my dad as possible, helping him with heavy lifting, just talking or watching him tinker around the yard. Even more now that I have a son of my own, I like to think back on the days when I looked up to him as the hero in my life and all the things and places he would let me explore as a child. He worked hard in his career life and has been retired now for a little over 10 years. However, you will not see him rest for more than about an hour indoors. He is constantly outside doing something, (even after his second hip replacement just 3 months ago)ever so slowly, but surely, he accomplishes what he sets his mind to for the day.

While I was walking around the backyard this Thanksgiving I snapped some photos of his "area" :laugh: and some of the items he's "mended" over the years. I don't think he'll every buy any kind of new tools since he likes to use goop to repair all his. Not sure what it is, but he likes to use some sort of orange/yellow stuff to fix just about anything that breaks:smile:

Some may find this pointless, but I thought I'd share some photos.....

An old Merrry-Go-Round he salvaged from the city's junk-pile back in the 80's when they updated their park playground. Still works...

This cabinet is full of things that probably don't spray/flow/work anymore, but he keeps it all just in case he needs it someday...

He found this cement sculpture of a cat and painted it black and at one time had some glowing eyes on it....he would put it in the deer stands of other hunters (my uncles) on our deer lease and wait to hear their reaction after their hunts at camp

The "Area" - he gathers all sorts of odds and ends that some day I guess he figures he'll need to make some sort of tool or use as fixes for broken items.

And here are some random items he's mended :1orglaugh:

this one is my favorite, even though I have no clue what he uses it for!

JB Weld??????

And a picture of my hero, still today, sitting on his tailgate...

 

[buckeye]

He must be a special guy. I would hope my son says the same about me. I would be so lucky.

 

[jbrewton]

My father is the same, must be due to they are from a generation that truly was special. My father has always been the bailing wire fixer kind of guy, used to drive me insane, but you know what, most of that stuff still works and my special fixes with modern materials have long since fallen apart.

We all need a good lesson from that generation and would be better off in so many ways!

Thanks for sharing.

 

[bandit 40]

Grant, You have been blessed to have him in your life, And he deserves the title "Hero". Being close as you are to him, not only have you learned from him to be a loving father, You have become your sons hero as well.... Congratulations on being an Outstanding Dad you should be Proud:thumbsup:.. That was a great story thanks for sharing.

 

[Casey Davis]

That's greatness. I bet that kind of stuff means the most to you. It's prob where you picked up how to take something and bring it back or make it better. He and you should be proud.

Wonder what ol cool hand Luke will be picking up from you guys? I bet he has a similar thread, thirty years from now about his dad and what tinkerer he is.

 

[superflea]

Awesome, thanks for sharing! I'd say your Dad has done well as his goodwill begets another and another. You are blessed indeed!:smile:

 

[Harleys Papa]

Great story Grant :thumbsup: Reminds me of my Step Dad (only father I knew) taught me everything he knew, if he couldnt fix it he always knew someone it town who could and usually for nothing :thumbsup:

 

[KustomKartKid]

well now you had to go and make me teary eyed.....

You're a lucky guy getting to spend time with your dad like that, my dad passed away way too early.

I can tell you that you will not regret for a second the time spent with him, only the time that you didn't spend with him....

looks like a great guy...I like his collection of "stuff" :thumbsup:

I can see him cruising the neighborhood on Derek's Tule Trooper...why don't you buy that bad boy and give it to him to tinker with

 

[useng1]

A COOL DAD. It may look like junk to some people, but you never can tell.

My Dad could fix about anything and I was blessed to learn alot of it. He was a boilermaker by trade and worked a lot of the cracking towers at oil refineries, working off the high beams. He used to put a 2x4 on the ground and ask if I could walk across it. "Sure" "Well," he'd say, "what if I put it 300 feet up? "No, I can't". He'd laugh and say "Why not. it's the same 2x4." I guess that's one way of looking at it.

 

[steven Durham]

Hi Grant : Your so luck to have your Father still there and involved in so much. About the small pot on the long stick it could be to reach ripe fruit up high in a tree or over the fence in a neighbors yard.
Steve

 

[wayne]

you have a great dad grant,he looks pretty young,in the back yard thats
his own walmart/tractor supply/, when he needs a bolt or whatever,its out
ther,:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[zeeman]

Nice story and pictures Grant. My dad passed away two years ago. He was just like yours. He had a shop with all sorts of items that were in different stages of disrepair. I guess watching and helping him as I grew up rubbed off on me. I am just the same. I have piles of stuff everywhere, and never throw anything away. It seems to me that a lot of young people today are not as interested in fixing things, and making useful items out of nothing. Thanks for sharing your dad's story.

 

[Oldschool]

My Dad is somewhere in Ohio tonight.

Inspite of the fact I would rather see him fly at his age he insists on driving....

All the way from the southern USA to my home in Canada.

Fathers are... Fathers I guess.
We can't change them, we worry about them, we become them...

Is he my hero?
Hmm...
At worst he is as flawed a human being as I am.
But in those shining moments he has from time to time I still get to hear the words I told you so...
Its something you can chalk up to wisdom and wisdom only comes with age.

I sit here considering that for a moment and remember the trails and tribulations I watched him go through when I was a young gaffer.
And I think he was better at putting a brave face on things than I.
There were dark days for him.....
A child of the derpression....
A complicated life with lots of travelling...
His own demons to fight...

Yet through it all in what I admit was a rather stern up bringing he managed to raise us kids and keep us clothed and fed.
Now in these years our generation faces problems too...
Maybe our fathers still have things to teach us.

I guess what I am saying is the older we all get the more we realize we never fully graspe the complexity of our fathers, and are forced to deal with the mortality of them. We will untill the day we die measure ourselves against them and we will question them as much as ourselves and perhaps even wonder about the way our children will think and look upon us .

I remember the issues he had with his Dad as he grew old.

And I am lucky enough to remember the first one of our line who came here from Eastern Eroupe and build a life on a little farm in the Ottawa valley.

Those men are gone now and I wish I could sit down and discuss things with them.
They were complicated fellows too, but had some insights into life that would be intersting to hear right now me thinks.

Wow I made a deap thought.....

 

[GraveBugger]

you know, i wish i had a good relationship with my old man, he recently told me hes ready to disown me if i screw him over ut:. when my son is older, i hope to give him the father, and the things i never had. he will be supported in whatever he decides to do :thumbsup:, i look up to you mmisterbungl, your the kinda guy i imagine myself to be when i get a little older. same with all the loving fathers on this forum.

 

[banjo]

you know, i wish i had a good relationship with my old man, he recently told me hes ready to disown me if i screw him over ut:. when my son is older, i hope to give him the father, and the things i never had. he will be supported in whatever he decides to do :thumbsup:, i look up to you mmisterbungl, your the kinda guy i imagine myself to be when i get a little older. same with all the loving fathers on this forum.

That don't sound good. #1 why is he so pissed #2 is there a good reason for him to be so pissed #3 have you thought of #1 & #2 ....Great news dude you are still a kid there's time use it wisely.. Listen to every word I said because every word is very important...Dave

 

[Rockwall]

when my son is older, i hope to give him the father, and the things i never had. he will be supported in whatever he decides to do :thumbsup:, i look up to you mmisterbungl, your the kinda guy i imagine myself to be when i get a little older. same with all the loving fathers on this forum.

Well said :thumbsup:

 

[mmisterbungl]

To those who "get it" thanks for looking and for the nice comments. He means a lot to me and I'm ecstatic that I'm moving back closer to be around him and my mom.
My dad just turned 77 this past June. He's had a lot of great years and hopefully he's in for many more.

 

[buckeye]

You will not regret the move. I picked up my family and moved from Tx back home to Oh. My mother was getting older. My grandparents raised me, so when I say mother actually my grandmother. That was the best move I made. My children and I were able to get to know het on a whole different level. Thankfully we did move. We lost her about two years after the move and those two years are two of the best ever. Hopefully your father will.be around many more and you and your son will make those memeries with him.

 

[bigrob]

I lost my Dad to a heart attack when he was 45 and I was 18 , Iam now older than he was when he passed on.
I still miss him every day.
To those of you who still have your dads enjoy them and learn from them and let your kids get to know them.
And to those who are estranged from their families any one can make mistakes , and we all can change.
Rob.

 

[banjo]

+1 My dad died at 51 (my current age) I was 21 . My son helped me on my Z-28 project recently . Nice time