5) Dad is a motor cycle maniac. I think he looks kinda like Harrison Ford, but the way Harrison Ford wishes he looked. Just check it out - you know you wish you were this cool.
4) Some of my fondest and oldest memories are of my dad reading to us. He read all of the Little House books, and I will always treasure that. A lot of my love for reading has come from this awesome example.
3) Dad, as is the case with all of the Kearl family, likes having his head/back rubbed and he isn't shy about sitting in front of someone and rolling his head around until that person gets the hint. I cherish the memory of watching one day as Dad looked around for something to scratch an itch with and used my sister's hairbrush. She came looking for it and was horrified to see Dad using it to scratch his leg.
2) Dad is the documentarian in our family. Without him, there would be little to no photographic evidence of our existence. This used to seem annoying, but recently (until my camera expired) I was learning to understand the compelling need to take awful pictures of everyone - which is why I took this awful picture of Dad getting ready to take an awful picture of us. And the cycle continues...
1) This last picture doesn't really demonstrate a quality but it makes me laugh.
And that is my favorite thing of all about Dad: his ability to make us all laugh. Dad brings out the giggly children in all the kids in my family - despite the fact that we are entirely TOO OLD to giggle. All my father has to do is make his hands into claws and say, "Did someone say it was TIME TO EAT?" and we all run screaming. Right before my parents moved from my childhood home, I remember one frantic night when we were lounging around in my parents' room. Suddenly we heard the thundering footsteps and growls of the Tickle Monster coming up the stairs. Immediately we all attempted to fit our adult bodies into the same spaces we hid in as children, despite having grown much larger since then. There was one violent scuffle wherein two or three of us tried to occupy the same spot and almost came to blows, all because my dad was coming to tickle us.
Thank you, Dad, for being a shining example and a wonderful father. Happy belated birthday!
2 comments:
Uncle Gary is a swell fellow, happy birthday to him. I didn't realize he and my Dad were the same age. I too have inherited the kearl urge nay need for a head rub, just ask Matt. There's probably a DSM IV about it: headrubaphile
Hip, funny, erudite, conscientious, and itchy. The paragon of man.
Post a Comment