87 Reasons Why My Dad Was Glad He Was Born
1. Having 3 kids
2. Same 3 kids being successful
3. Same 3 kids never being in jail (except for that one time in high school when I tried to spend the night in the Ford County jail. Oh, that was not one of my brightest ideas.)
4. Being a grandpa to 3
5. Turning the jump rope for Kim and me (we were jump roping fools, I am here to tell you!)
6.Teaching me how to do a layup
7. Teaching me how to do a jump shot
8. Playing volleyball in the back yard
9, Going to the Tournament of Champions
10. Playing tether ball
11. Being the patient when Baby and I went through our "I Want to be a Nurse" stage
12. Mowing the yards (every house he lived in had amazing yards: front, back, side. Green velvet, not a weed in sight.)
13. Having the best yards in Dodge City
14. Swimming with his kids after work at the Dodge City Country Club (I imagine he was tired and had other things to do, but when he would go to the pool with us after supper, we thought it was more fun than allowed by law,)
15. Taking me to Cimarron to pick up my bar exam results (I was too afraid to have them sent to Dad's address. It was not a given that I would pass.)
16. Liberating France from Germany. Single handedly.
17. Running his traps on Saturday mornings
18.Serving in the legislature as both a Republican and a Democrat
19. Being branded a "liberal" back in the 60's
20. Being proud of the brand
21. Travelling
22. Practicing law
23. Being a judge
24. Talking politics. Always. Talking politics.
25. Cooking on the grill
26. Running for office
27. Meeting George McGovern
28. Watching Roger grow up
29. Wondering about the role of a sociologist in modern day America
30. Arguing with Roger about that role
31. Secret recipe for hamburgers (it's the Tabasco)
32. Driving a Jeep in Utah (actually, driving a jeep anywhere. When Dad was behind the wheel of a Jeep, you better hold on and hope for the best. It was an adventure!)
33. Photography
34. Taking home movies
35. Green Mountain Falls, Colorado (1st 2 weeks of August, every year)
36. Reading. Always reading.
37. NPR
38. The New Yorker
39. Newspapers (In the house where I grew up, we got 3 daily papers and 4 on Sunday. And we were expected to read them.)
40. Charter subscription holder to Sports Illustrated
41. Vodka and grapefruit juice
42. Charlie and Nellie
43. Al and Evelyn
44. Hid. My dear stepmother who loved my dad. Really, truly loved my dad.
45. Dead Horse Point, Utah.
46. Mexican food
47. Running for Attorney General in 1964
48. Running for Congress in 1974
49. Travelling to every county in Kansas (all 105!)
50. Red Demon football on Friday nights
51. Olympics
52. Attending Jimmy Carter's inauguration
53. Finally having his own swimming pool
54. Color television
55. Color television WITH REMOTE
56. White water rafting
57. Being president of the school board
58. Walking everywhere. Every. Where. Rain. Shine. Snow. Sleet. Hail. (You get the idea.)
59. Three kids following him to Washburn University
60. Cases that settled
61. Brown vs. Kansas State Highway Commission
62. KU basketball
63. Dodge City Community College sports
64. Folk music
65. Shakespeare
66. Dickens
67. "Les Miserables"
68. England
69. Winston Churchill
70. Family history
71. Civil War history
72. Teaching
73. Duke (the dog, not the university. He loved that silly dog.)
74. Warshaw's Men's Wear
75. Hot. Strong. Coffee.
76. In his "Newt Rat" cup
77. A good cigar
78. Maps
79. Getting knocked down
80. Getting back up
81. Questioning
82. Curiosity
83. A hot day
84. A cold beer
85. Being an entrepreneur
86. College fight songs
87. Kansas sunsets
My dad packed a lot of living into his too short 76 year long life. But, I'm glad he did.
Happy Birthday, Dad. I love you!
