Remembering Dad

[BigFish]

My Dad has been gone 5 years now. It does not get any easier contrary to what many say.....I miss him more with each passing day. Not a day goes by that he does not drift into my thoughts....remembering some small thing that my Dad may have taught me in my youth to help me along in life. How to change the oil in my car, the proper way to use a paint brush, drive a nail. Simple things that I now find myself teaching my sons. He taught me by example to work hard.....my Dad worked 3 jobs his entire life to make things good for my family....and they were. I was fortunate to have my Dad for over 36 years of my life....many are not that fortunate....I realize how fortunate I was. I never for one moment took my Dad for granted....always realizing how much he cared for us. My last memory of my Dad happens to be a fishing related one. I was at the time living back with my folks as I had seperated and divorced. I had been fishing for stripers for a few years by this time and my Dad knew how much I was enjoying it. I was loading my gear, rods and tackle, into my truck in the driveway in a hurry as I wanted to catch the tide just right. I looked up at the front door and my Dad was standing there watching me with a funny, approving smile on his face. I looked at him for a moment and he just nodded his head and grinned as I jumped in the truck and headed off. That was the last time I saw him as he passed away suddenly just a couple days after that. I always felt that that was his way of saying his goodbye and that he knew how much I loved fishing and that he was happy for me. So though he is gone, he is not forgotten because I owe everything to my Dad.

[protty31]

I'm sure he's looking down smiling at that post. You just made nothing else seem important.

[afterhours]

my dad passed away many years ago. my earliest memories are fishing with him when i was 2-1/2 yo, he's the one who got me into fishing. whenever i'm fishing i know he's with me. my son and i always go fishing on fathers day.....and dad makes three.

[JohnR]

One of the earliest / best memories was at about 5 or 6 sitting on his lap driving the boat... He's been gone 4 years now.

[Karl F]

Lost my dad 25 years ago.. he died on Fathers Day 1981.
Kinda makes it hard to enjoy Fathers Day, for me.

Like you Larry, many fond memories of a man who sacrificed a lot for his family (6 sons). Often working 2, sometimes 3 jobs, or when he owned his own business, often working 80 hour weeks, he still found time to spend with his wife and kids, take me fishing, and gave us all memories of him.

Like the old CSN song... "Teach, your children well."

[BigFish]

Funny Karl....my Dad worked so much and yet he always seemed to be there when it mattered most. So I know what you mean.

[backbeach]

Yeah, I was thinking of Dad too. I lost him in January of 2004- six weeks after Mom; which seemed terribly wrong then- but not so much now. He got me into my first stripers when I was 4 years old- trolling in the Westport River. I can still hear how he laughed when he pulled up oyster shells as I reeled in the schoolies- telling me until the fish flashed at the boat that I had hung up bottom... The last (fishing related) memories were of him asking me to give him a call on the way home from a trip, to "Let me know how you made out"... I still catch myself reaching for the phone once in awhile as I'm rolling home with fish in the cooler... I really miss having him on board with my son and I when we fish for fluke, as that was his favorite fishing. I'm glad he got to fish with his grandson though, and at 89, he lived a full life, God Bless Him....