My dad would have been 82 years old today....

.....and I always like to start the new year off by remembering him and knowing that we would always celebrate this day with him in the simplest of ways as he was a simple man......

.

.....didn't need much.....didn't really want much.....just happiness for his family, a warm meal when he got home from a day at the farm......and someone to appreciate his jokes, which some of us did more than others....but I, for one did, and I really miss them.

He was first and foremost a family man....and he was a hardworking rancher so had little time for extravagant family vacations but would always find time for a breakfast or a picnic at Zion National Park or Navajo Lake.....and there was always time for at least an overnighter during the deer hunt. Our yearly trips to California to see Aunt Beulah and Uncle Emeron were always good memories for me. Now mom and dad might have a different take on it but the long trip to Reseda in our '57 Chevy with 4 kids asking, "When are we gonna get to California" starting as we entered Mesquite were probably not to his liking and there might have been a swear word or two along the way but once we got to the "whoopies" we knew we were almost there.

I don't have many pictures of me and my dad but this one was when they came to visit us in Pullman and we took a trip to the World's Fair in Spokane. My dad was an easy guy to have around....always made everyone comfortable....well, most of the time. There was this one time when he took us to the Frostop and the order didn't come fast enough and he drove off with all of us kids ducking so our friends wouldn't see us. But, for the most part, he was a pretty easy-going guy....as long as his order came out fast and to his liking.

My dad loved my kids. I can guarantee you if he were with us today, he'd stop by Kyle and JoEllen's house every day on his way to the farm and give Matty a big hug and fling her around a bit. There wasn't a day he didn't "woody woodpecker" into the house to see the little ones and he loved to have us visit him at the farm.

He was a good good man that loved his wife, his kids and his grand-kids and I know he would really have loved this next generation of little ones even if their parents probably would not have let them have dumper rides. Life is better for all of us that knew him and when we're feelin' down, we have our "grandpa-isms" to cheer us up and the memories of a good man to buoy us up. So, as Grandpa would say..."Remember who you are.....and don't let it get you down"....or when your tire goes flat, remember that it's only flat on the bottom.....or if you're in pain, remember..."It will feel better when it quits hurtin'." Happy Birthday, Dad. I really miss you.