Fathers' Day

[Willow]

As I was going to St Ives
I met a man with seven wives.
Each wife had seven sacks;
Each sack had seven cats;
Each cat had seven kits.
Kits, cats, sacks, wives
How many were going to St Ives?

My father was fond of quoting this little riddle poem.  He often would quote to us as we  traveled by automobile across the country works he had memorized from high school. His favorite seemed to be The Cremation of Sam McGee.  He was fond of Robert Service and also quoted The Shooting of Dan McGrew and lines from various Service poetry.  He quoted Old Ironsides and a poem that I can’t find about a captain’s son in the rigging.



Daddy was a welder by trade, specifically a welding engineer by education.  He was a hard worker.  He’d usually come home from a day at work, eat supper (he ate dinner at noon), and go out to the garage where he would work on his and others’ cars until way past bedtime.  I got to spend time in the garage with him washing greasy parts in a bucket of gasoline.

Daddy was born in 1925, lived through the Great Depression and was in high school during the second World War.  As soon as he graduated he joined the Navy and was accepted into the flight cadet program.  He earned his wings just as war in the Pacific ended.



Daddy never owned a motorcycle, but I think he would have liked to.  He rode my bikes when I was away and managed to put two of them on the ground.  Speaking of putting them on the ground, he was the one that would come to pick me up and put the bike in the back of a four wheeled vehicle whenever I performed that particular feat.



He never knew my Valkyrie.  I stopped at his nursing home when I rode the 1500 mile loop the summer after I acquired the Valkyrie, but he didn’t come outside to see it.  He didn’t talk much by then and, honestly, I’m not certain he knew who I was much of the time.  Those last days he sat silently much of the time and his expression usually seemed to be a mix of confusion and the bitterness of abandonment.  He would always smile when Lori spoke.  I rode the Valkyrie south in January of 2006 to join in a memorial service and celebration of  his life.

Daddy made some bad decisions along the path of his life, and he made a lot of good ones.  He was strong, intellectually curious, and honest almost to a fault.  He didn’t put a lot of stock in what other people might think.  He wasn’t perfect, but by and large he was a good role model.  He was and is my hero.

He’s gone from us now and this Sunday I will miss him.  I know that I too will someday soon will travel the same road that he's taken and that's not entirely a bad thing.

When I’ve gone I would like to leave some footprints similar to his and like him, a voice that still echoes from time to time with those who have been left behind.



How about you?  Do you have memories and pictures of your dad?

[JimL]

Great photos and a good story....

[Flames]

That was wonderful Willow.   I lost my Mom and Dad and my inlaws in the last four years.  Brought a few tears and lumps.  Thanks for reminding us of one the important things in life.   Hope to make Izane this year.....finally.  Be nice to meet ya.

[solo1]

Willow, that was a great story!  I feel old right now as your Dad was born only three years before me.

I, too, have many memories of my Dad but hardly any pictures.  Dad never served in the military, he just missed being drafted for WWI.  During WWII, he served at GE supervising the manufacturing of  electric motors for the Navy.
In fact, he was involved in rebuilding the electric motors of a US submarine (the Squalus) that sank and was recovered just before the start of WWII.

Dad gave me a .22 rifle and took me squirrel hunting when I was 10.  In 1943, dad became very ill and I took him squirrel hunting for the last time.  He died at the age of 70.   Like your Dad, I believe that my Dad also wanted a motorcycle.  My parents didn't object when I bought my first motorcycle in 1947. 

Today, I have, as you know, three sons that ride.  Unfortunately,  sometime soon, I will not be riding any more and my faithful Valk will be sold .  The Valk was offered to my sons but Mark and Chris don't like fairings and my oldest, Wayne, wants a bike that gets good mileage and that leaves out the Valk.

Sunday, my kids will be helping me celebrate Fathers day.  I thank the Lord that i still can enjoy company with them.

 A lot of water has gone over the dam since I was born, the Great Depression, WWII, military service, raising a family, a gaggle of motorcycles,  the death of my parents, three out of 4 of my sisters, and my wife .  However, I'm lucky to still be in reasonable health. 

I'm not into poetry but didn't Robert Frost say something like "miles to go before I sleep"

Wayne, solo1

[Willow]

I'm not into poetry but didn't Robert Frost say something like "miles to go before I sleep"

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

 

[R J]

I don't have any pictures of my dad left.  What little I had got destroyed in a basement flooding.

I lost my dad Feb 20, 1945 on Iwo Jima.

I remember him to this day, and I'll never forget him.

He took me hunting, made me work my butt off on the farm, jerk teats morning and evening, and then he played ball with me till supper was ready..  Yeah, he beat my butt when it needed it also.  He taught me how to drive the old Model A, which one time saved his life.   He split a leg open with an ax.  Dad, I and the old Model A were there together.  I steered, dad shifted and pushed the clutch in, I worked the hand throttle and the brakes.  We drove 4 miles to town and the Dr fixed up his leg....  I won't tell you how scared I was that day....

I was 12 years and 6 months old when he died.....  I vowed to mom I was going into the Marines when I got out of high school.  I did, I spent 5 years in the Corps and attained the rank of T/Sgt.  I was on a 4 year enlistment, and Harry S. Truman extended all of us another year during the Korean Conflict..  Last 3 years I was in the MP's.   

[Charlie McCready]

Carl, Wayne, RJ, that was an awesome read. Sometime I'll learn how to post pics and scan some I have of my Dad. He too, was my hero. He left us at 70 on  January 9, 1990, his sister's birthday. I helped lay her to rest last Thursday before we rode to Chambersburg Friday. 

[Hoser]

In early 1942, Wally left his pretty young farm wife in Kansas to go to war.  He spent the next two years removing the Japanese troops from the far regions of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska, by building airstrips in the frozen tundra and rocky barren lands of the mostly unpopulated island chain.  He could do this because, he was a farm boy, and knew how to operate heavy equipment.  When he and the other members of the combat engineers finished that task, they were shipped by transport ships to San Franciso, where he was met by his young wife and his mother inlaw who had loaded up in mom's 34 chevy and drove to California to meet him.  After the drive and a few days leave with Ruthie, his young wife, he boarded a troop train at the county seat to go to England.  Another long trip aboard a troop ship, Wally and his fellow engineers found themselves for a year of training for something, although they didn't know what.  He recieved news during this time among the largest gathering of soldiers, airmen and sailors, that Wally junior had been born.  It would be another two years before he met his son.  After a stormy crossing of the English channel in the summer of 1944, Wally found himself stepping off a small boat into the cold water on Utah beach, greeted by heavy artillary fire coming from the foothills just off the beach.  Carrying all kinds of explosives and other equipment, he and his fellow engineers and the infantry who were with them, finally found ther way to the wire and steel barricades at the beachead where the set to work clearing the way for the troops and tanks being unloaded behind them.  After a week of this, they moved on slowly across France, Belgium and Germany, where they finally heard word of the German surrender.  After another trip across the Atlantic, a train ride back to Kansas,  he was reunited with Ruthie and his infant son.  Another too short leave, then back on the train to San francisco, where he boarded another troop ship bound for okinawa to prepare for the invasion of Japan.  Thankfully, soon after clearing the harbor, the ship was turned around and redocked a few days later, thanks to the surrender of the Japanese because of something they called an atom bomb.  This was very lucky for yours truly, who was born nine months after Wally returned from San Francisco and was mustered out of the Army.  Wally settled down with his two sons and Ruthie on a small farm in Kansas, and promptly began raising his family.  Unfortunately Wally was forced to sell the farm in 1959, due to a 1950s drought, and moved to town where He and Ruthie raised eight children.  He never made much money, even working two jobs but we were always fed and clothed.  We lost dad when he died suddenly at the age of 58 when I was thirty-two in 1978.  Ruthie never got over it, but carried on bravely, raising the rest of the kids, we lost her two years ago at the age of eighty six.  She's happy now, she has joined dad and her grand daughter,  who Maggie and I lost in 1994.  Miss you dad, I'll see you and mom and Joni when I get there.  John            

[Smokinjoe-VRCCDS#0005]

Carl, Wayne, RJ, that was an awesome read. Sometime I'll learn how to post pics and scan some I have of my Dad. He too, was my hero. He left us at 70 on  January 9, 1990, his sister's birthday. I helped lay her to rest last Thursday before we rode to Chambersburg Friday. 

Charlie feel free to call me and I'd be happy to help you start posting pictures.

[the inspector]

Very nice tribute to your Fathers. I will write more tomorrow. I will also try to post some images of my Dad who is still with me @ 89 and I know how lucky I am to still have him. I was hopeing nothing would happen while I was at the B/G event, and as luck would have it nothing did. I will be cutting his grass tomorrow if it doesn't rain and will be with him on Fathers Day. I have some stories but am not good at putting them together. I will try that also. But I just wanted to say your tribute was very very nice and I do understand your feelings.....

"the inspector"

[fudgie]

Wow, guys them are some great memories you have of your father.
I am furtinate to still have my father around. He lives just down the road from me. He taught me alot through the years and still does. He got divorced when I was only 6 or 7 and we choose to live with him. He taught us how to hunt and shoot really young. I remember driving back from the State Fair when i was only 14. Taught us all about the farm life. I live on the family farm now since I lost my son back in 03. We fell on hard times during his death and he wanted us to move into the farm since it has set empty for a few years. Now I'm divorced and set here with Kit. I'll probally be here till we find a job out west. He continues to work on the rail road and is gone several days a week. When he is home he is doing odd things around the farm or collecting hay trollies or pocket watches. Haven't really told him I loved him in years but its just not our thing I guess. We each know.

[RP#62]

Great stuff.  Here's my dad (Warren) when he was a teenager just about to ship out to the Phillipines during WW2. 

He lied about his age to join the Navy.  He told me he didn't know what he wanted to do but was sure it didn't involve staying on a farm in southern Louisiana.  He was born in 1925 and I asked him once if he remembered the Depression.  He said yeah, he remembered. . . . . that was when everybody else had to live like they did.  He used to talk about the Navy before and after the war, but never would talk about the war years.  We kind of got the message that he wanted to forget about it.  We are fortunate to still have him with us and one of my greatest privledges was taking him and my son to the WW2 Memorial in DC when it first opened.

Below is my dad's dad.  "Jumpin Jack" Brown just before he shipped out to Europe during WW1.
.  He passed away before I was born, but I got to know his brother in law pretty well.  I remember him telling me that he also joined the Army during WW1.  As a teenager he had been working in a sawmill out in the swamps of Lafourche Parish.  He said that when he went to boot camp they told him they were going to whip him into shape.  He laughed and said he gained weight in boot camp, that he had never eaten so good in his life.
-RP

[Scott in Ok]

My father was a high school principal for over 40 years.  In fact, he was until 1 month before he passed away almost exactly one year ago.  His one love, however crazy it was to me over the years, was harvesting our wheat crop each year.  Since harvest was always going on during fathers day, and we are in the process of that right now, I find it appropriate to post a picture of him doing what he loved...







Happy Fathers day, Dad.   I miss you.

-Scott

[..]

As a teenager worked for Billy Smarts Circus with horses and elephants
Joined the British Army as a teenager. Retired when he was 55 years old.

Fought in N. Africa and other locations during WWII - neve spoke much about it. Although he did get lost behind enemy lines whislt in command of a Scout car. He and his men were looked after by Bedouin tribesmen until they could safely get back to their side.

Was involved in the British Army peacekeeping force in Cypris in the late 50's

Stationed in Germany in the early 60's

Fought in northen Malaysia against Chinese terrorists in the middle 60's.

Fought in Borneo against Indonesian terrorists in the late 60's

Advised the US Army in the late 60's http://www.combattrackerteam.org/photo25E%20test.htm

Advised the SAS in the early 70's

After his army retirement he became Assistant Keeper Entymology at Leicester Museum.

Made me into an open minded, curious let's see what is around the next corner/over the next mountain person.

Never forced me into doing anything but strongly encouraged me to try many things.

Apart from Germany and a short while in England we always lived off camp. He wanter to fully experience the countries he was posted in.

Took me camping - on bicycles!

Tooke me to Berlin before it was easy for civilians to get in. I remember driving down the autobahn past all the East German defenses, miles of barbed wire, watch towers, guards machine gun emplacements etc etc

Took me to Yugloslavia whilst Tito was in power - how he did that as a serving British Office I have no idea. He arranged for me to be at a party where Yuri Gargain was to be.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin

I still have a signed photo somewhere.

Took me deep into the Malaysian jungel on adventures collecting butterflies, sleeping rough, sometimes with the local natives.

Had no qualms about me getting a bike at age 16 so I could get to my first "real" job.

So many more memories that make me smile rather than be sad following his death in 1985.

[PAVALKER]

Great seeing these old photos and reading these stories.  Made me wipe a tear and go looking into my Dad's photos.  He served in the Navy in WWII as a barber and then a Water Tender (for the ship's boilers).  He got out of the service after a few years and was an Auto/Truck Mechanic for the rest of his working life.    I was fortunate that I retired from the Navy and got to spend a good year with him before he passed in in 97, at the age of 77.  He used to cut our hair when we were kids, but we didn't like it (Buzz). That year I retired I let him cut my hair  when it needed it, and I tried to cut his in return (what little he had) .....  and I recall those being the best hair cuts I had ever remembered getting.

I recall one Friday I was on my Honda CL350 at an intersection with a buddy on his bike, we were going camping on our bikes for the weekend.  The light turned green and we both pulled wheelies thru the intersection.  Little did I realize til Sunday when I got home that my Dad was road testing a big truck and was at the cross of the intersection and witnessed me doing that.  Got a azz whipping and grounding when I got home.  

Happy Father's Day..... thanks for the memories.

[sandy]

My da was born in 1911. He had a pilot's license but was too old to fly after Pearl Harbor. He joined the Navy and the used him as a Navy photographer in NYC. He never went to basic or lived in a barracks. He lived on Long Island with his folks and commuted into NYC to the War Dept's public relations office developing and taking photos. He taught me many things mechanical/electrical and we lived on a boat in my High school years. I've been sailing since I was 12 yrs old. My first MC was at 17 in HS. he wasn't thrilled but never told me NO! about riding it. He was still living on the boat in Nov of '71 when he fell in and drowned. Water's pretty cold in Nov in NY and no one was around to help. I still miss him.

[nortman]

He is the one in the middle.  He was a farmer all his life.  The guys flanking him are his cousins.  The tall one on the left was a rum runner for the purple gang in detroit.  He drove trucks of booze to chicago and delivered it to capones gang.  On his last trip  the load was hijacked and he was killed.  He wound up dead in the chicago river with several bullet holes in his back.

[hubcapsc]

Thanks Willow, you made me remember some things about my father... he used to say this thing about
how queen Elizabeth was a ruler, she ruled the seven seas, so I googled for it...

Do you know why fire engines are red??

There are eight wheels on a fire truck and four men. Eight and four make twelve. There are twelve inches in a ruler. Queen Elizabeth was a ruler and she ruled the Seven Seas. The seas have fishes in them and the fishes have fins. The Finns fought the Russians and the Russians are red. So since fire engines are always Rushing they must be RED.

And I remember him telling me that when he was in Germany during the war he saw some men
looking into some ovens, but he didn't look in there, didn't want to carry that vision with him.

He was a sign painter, the best in South Carolina, painted everything from the gold leaf stuff on the
bank door to signs on top of textile mills that could only be seen by airplanes.

He raced Harleys "TT" around here before the war and bought the first Harley sold in a Greenville
area Harley shop after the war...

[Black Pearl's Captain]

Today was fathers day for my Dad and myself. We picked up a bake it yourself big Pizza at his request and took it to Mom and Dad's for lunch. My parents are probably the reason why I like to travel so much. They have always traveled since us four kids left the home. They have been "Full Time RV'ers for 13 plus years now. Home is where the fifth wheel is, Texas in winter and from Kansas or all the way to Alaska in the summers.

I didn't give him the day off though, they usually "work" summers as campground hosts and play with their other fellow Fulltimers all winter on the beach in Texas. Dad had to go clean a camp site when a camper left today. It's probably best he has something to do anyway as he can't handle much idle time. I'm the same way so I must thank him for that.

The good part is he's working for the US goverment now so it's pretty easy going, pick up a cigarette butt or two, take a break, smoke a cigarette, toss the butt and back to work. Pick up a cigarette butt or two, take a break..........yup goverment worker.

Raymond

[Gary]

Dad and I haven’t shared the close bond that most of you have shared. We continue to be there for each other but I can't say we've had what many here have posted and enjoyed.

My dad, or better known as W.L. growing up in Witchita Falls, Tx, was a provider. Worked full time as long as I could remember. Worked many years for the Santa Fe Railroad and eventually settled in at the Triple A in Los Angeles as a Certified Data Processor and certified Data Educator, later in Costa Mesa.


We never had the chance to go fishing, hunting, camping, or hiking, no wrenching in the garage. Dad never made it to many of my ball games, always working. I do recall at least a time or two he had helped me with an upcoming spelling test or vocabulary words, putting a rhyming, lyrical twist on them to make them stick. He was otherwise found, alone in the darkened living room, with only one table lamp lit, studying the books and documents that surrounded him, not to be disturbed.

He was always there when it came for disciplinary action, as instructed by the ole lady. I can’t imagine, your reward coming home from a hard day at the office, and that long freakin drive back from downtown Los Angeles, and now you have the duty of whippin on your boy. Needless to say, I wasn’t the most trouble free lad in the neighborhood.

Dad had always been good at playing most stringed instruments and writing lyrics. Back in the mid fifties dad had cut a few vinyl records, 78’s & 45’s on the Bonnie Record label. His tunage having a Honky Tonk twist to them; Lone Star Moon, and  Honky Tonk'n Mood. He also did a couple of Christmas Songs; Santa Comes on Christmas Eve, and Santa’s Sleigh, both of which I can still remember singing to my fellow Kindergarten classmates. The Jimmie Haskell Orchestra played back up which were known to have played back up to Bing Crosby.


Here's a shot of Dad and my son Nick, who many of you may have met, during a jam session on guitar and alto sax.


To this day he still has the knack to make up a poem, some lyrics, several of which have been published in the local paper.

He has always been very religious and most his poems these days tend to have something about the Almighty. His dad, who passed before I had the chance to meet him, was a Minister. This has always been one of my favorite photos and has always been proudly displayed in my living room. A classic. Look at those faces. That's my ole man, the littlest one, the others are my aunts, uncles and grandparents.


Dad and Mom have always been active in song and dance as far back as I can remember. They use to dedicate their time and shows to performing not only at the local Civic Theatre’s but for the Veteran’s Hospitals and Retirement Centers, Rest Homes and the like. That's Dad & Mom top left.


Up until only fairly recently, the show that must go on came to an end. These two had more energy then I think I ever will. Dad had broken a hip helping the neighbor load up something beyond his capacity, had a hip replacement and hasn’t been the same since. The act, for him, was reduced to just singing and strolling across the stage. This year, after a lifetime of performing, the group retired.

Dad has always seemed to show an interest in my work, the rides taken and the photo’s I’ve shared.

My folks still reside in southern California and still find ways to keep busy.

Dad has never climbed on any of the bikes I’ve owned over years, mom has but has never taken a ride, I think it would mess up her hair.

Here's to you Dad!

[thumper]

My father was born in 1920 the son of a career Naval officer.  He lived in China and the Panama Canal Zone as a child.  He was able to enrole in the Navy after graduating Harvard in three years to join the war effort.  He used to tell me stories about being off the coast of Okinawa during the shore bombardment that preceeded the invasion.  I know at one point while he and his crew were preparing damaged ships for decoy duty his home ship was hit and he had to swim for an hour with a fellow seamen to save his life.

He worked for Yale lift trucks and did extensive international work which meant weeks away from home.  He was a sucessful businessman who had the respect of his fellow workers and provided admirably for his family.

He died this past March so this is my first father's day without him.  I miss you dad......

[Big IV]

This is the first year in nearly 30 years that Dad hasn't had all of his kids in for lunch (usually a picnic) to celebrate. I'm out of NC in PA. My little sister is on a high school youth group trip with church in TN. My little brother is in Mexico doing mission work.
 
So Mom and Dad came up Friday to see us in PA. They were here all weekend. We spent Father's day riding up to Eerie PA and tracking down light houses. We laughed. We had fun. Can't ask for much more. It was a good day. I'm glad.

My wife, Nicola, called her dad and talked to him for a while on the phone. She couldn't be home either.

I'm glad we can still visit with our fathers. And we do regularly when we're back home.

Sure, we were in a van, but we still managed to have a good time.