September 9

(sorry...forgot to post this on time here)

Daddy

Today is my daddy’s birthday. He would have turned 92.

I have yet to finish writing about my mom (got to get over the painful parts) so I can move on to my dad, but just some random things about him that I remember or was affected by the most:

- My dad was a nerd. He begat a few more.
- At home, he was either reading, watching TV, working, reading and watching TV at the same time
- I read a quote from a Ronald Reagan biography to my hubby and before I got to say it, hubby said “that sounds like your dad!”
- He was interned by the Japanese in WWII, then was a political prisoner before he escaped
- He thought it was cool that I learned how to use CB radio jargon when I was 10 and got me to learn morse code (all forgotten!)
- Never told me what I should or shouldn’t be when I grew up but helped me try to get where I wanted to go
- Loved sci fi lit, esp. Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, Michael Crichton and others
- Loved to eat, was a diabetic later in life but thru exercise went from taking 2 or 3 shots of insulin to a pill only
- Might have had a rocky relationship with his own dad, but spoke very highly of him and his dad’s accomplishments
- Was quiet about politics in the Philippines out of respect for my mom
- Tried to raise us to be good Darwinists
- Wouldn’t smile when he broke his front tooth
- Taught me how to use the dictionary when I asked what it meant to “put on airs”
- He was the cook in the family (my mom only made pineapple upside down cake once or twice)
- Made the first pizza (with anchovies) I ever tried, made his own taffy, made syrup, made vanilla extract and once made so much lime jello that I was sick of limes for a while
- Was a saver, composter and frugal to a chronic level at times
- Did not like shopping with my mom but loved shopping surplus
- Took us on many, many road trips and vacations
- Loved, adored and spoiled my mom
- Never spoke ill of anyone and made an effort to think before speaking about others to us
- Defended me in front of his mom when grandma accused me of stealing her pots and pans (I was 3 or 4 years old)
- Bought and paid the mortgage for the house he and his parents lived in with his savings from side jobs and selling magazines (paid for college tuition with those funds also)