I miss my dad.

[Alkali Ike]

You know this thread has caused me to stop and think about my dad’s passing in 2013 in a way I haven’t for a long time.

 

[buldog5151bass]

In time you remember the good stuff. But there are always time you will wish you could be with him. I have my father's old bomber jacket, which is about 50 years old. There are times it just feels good to wear.

 

[two fingers]

I don't know how somebody rescued my original post but I'm still hurting

Thanks for allowing us in to your personal space. So sorry for your loss.

 

[Alkali Ike]

In time you remember the good stuff. But there are always time you will wish you could be with him. I have my father's old bomber jacket, which is about 50 years old. There are times it just feels good to wear.

I still have and occasionally wear a windbreaker I saved from his stuff. He loved the ocean and sailboats. The windbreaker reminds me of sailing off the California coast with him. He was the skilled sailor. I was the deckhand.

 

[SgtHulka]

At first I felt like I didn't want to burden you guys with my pain. But I was really happy to read all the responses. I have only one thing that my dad gave me before he died. His prized guitar from Tom Anderson. I had considered selling it but now I will no longer consider it.

 

[Clark Dark]

I"Thanks, for the memories"
at 13 I watched my dad finishing a tune up on the family car. He said you want to know what I'm doing? I replied yes.
He asked me to hold his hand and he pulled a spark plug wire off the plugs tip and then he placed his finger near the side of the wire boot while I was holding his hand. The jolt that hit me made me jump 2' off the ground while he stood there grinning. I didn't understand the principles of electricity that it would seek the least resistant path to ground but that peaked my interest in everything mechanic and 6 years later after graduating from school I was able to work for a dealership with my own tools that I acquired from doing tune ups and brake jobs and mufflers and clutch/pressure plate replacements and even rebuilding automatic transmissions. That jolt gave me the impetus that made me known in my neighborhood and professionally as a text book mechanic.
I feel your pain @BeefPie84 because there's really not a time, good or bad, that when dad is gone that anything feels alright. I lost mine in '94 and my best dreams are the ones when he's in them with that grin.

 

[Pacman]

15 years ago tomorrow for me. It doesn't get easier, it just gets less raw.

 

[Rich Fiscus]

At first I felt like I didn't want to burden you guys with my pain. But I was really happy to read all the responses. I have only one thing that my dad gave me before he died. His prized guitar from Tom Anderson. I had considered selling it but now I will no longer consider it.

View attachment 3704275

I’m glad you posted about it. I don’t have much from my Dad, but I do have a stack of jazz records and his short timer’s stick from Vietnam.

 

[shadowtippy]

I'm sorry for your loss. My dad has been gone almost 30 years and I think about him every day. The pain of losing him will recede in its own time. Thanks for letting us share it with you.

 

[BasturdBlaster]

I lost my Pop a year and a half ago, left me his land and work shop and an empty heart (and about 15 chain saws, he was a Logger) and I cant go a day without thinking how much it hurts to not have him in my life. Im tearing up just typing this

Lets hear it for all those great Dads

 

[Stewie26]

In a way we are all lucky to have had a great times with our dads. Reading through this thread got me thinking about some of the TBer's here that did not get the luxury of growing up with a dad in the house. For those who did, we should count our past blessings.

 

[the harp unstrung]

BeefPie84 posted:

When my father died 3 years ago, he had no loved ones near him.I can only imagine how scared he was. I imagine his face as he passed.

I miss when he folded my ears. I hope that when I die I will meet him again. Maybe he will walk me down the street one last time on an early Sunday afternoon.

It's taken a long time for me to grieve for him, but I am just completely broken today.

I really miss my dad and didnt know where else to express it.

Thank you for trusting us with those precious memories.

 

[the harp unstrung]

I"Thanks, for the memories"
at 13 I watched my dad finishing a tune up on the family car. He said you want to know what I'm doing? I replied yes.
He asked me to hold his hand and he pulled a spark plug wire off the plugs tip and then he placed his finger near the side of the wire boot while I was holding his hand. The jolt that hit me made me jump 2' off the ground while he stood there grinning. I didn't understand the principles of electricity that it would seek the least resistant path to ground but that peaked my interest in everything mechanic and 6 years later after graduating from school I was able to work for a dealership with my own tools that I acquired from doing tune ups and brake jobs and mufflers and clutch/pressure plate replacements and even rebuilding automatic transmissions. That jolt gave me the impetus that made me known in my neighborhood and professionally as a text book mechanic.
I feel your pain @BeefPie84 because there's really not a time, good or bad, that when dad is gone that anything feels alright. I lost mine in '94 and my best dreams are the ones when he's in them with that grin.

...so well written...!

You’re good at this Writing stuff.

 

[Pacman]

Since this came around so close to the anniversary of me losing my dad, I thought I'd share this with you all.

15 years ago today, I lost my father. What follows is some thoughts I wrote down shortly after, and I'd like to share them with you. If they move you at all, call your loved ones, and thank them for what they mean to you.

My father taught me what it is to be a man.

Through his actions, not his words, he showed me things I wouldn't understand until later in life when I would need them the most.

He taught me that knowledge is more important than education, and the thirst for knowledge is more important than either.

He taught me to do something you love, because being happy is more important than money.

My father taught me to work hard, do the very best you can at what you do, and strive to be the best you can be. If you do something, he'd say, do it right. At the end of the day, the only thing others can know about you is how well you do your job, and how well you treat others.

He taught me to treat others well.

My father taught me what it is to be honest. Even when its difficult, being truthful is the honorable thing to do.

He taught me to stand up for what you believe in. For yourself, for your family, and for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

He taught me to provide for my family. Food and shelter are easy, time is much more difficult, and much more important.

Most importantly, he taught me to laugh. Laughter sweetens the good times, makes great memories, and gets us through the toughest of times.

My father didn't talk a lot during his life, but he gave me many lessons. Most of them I was too young, too stubborn or too proud to listen to at the time. He didn't stop teaching, and I'm glad to say he didn't give up. I hope he understood that somewhere along the line, they sank in. I get it now, Dad.

 

[shadowtippy]

Since this came around so close to the anniversary of me losing my dad, I thought I'd share this with you all.

15 years ago today, I lost my father. What follows is some thoughts I wrote down shortly after, and I'd like to share them with you. If they move you at all, call your loved ones, and thank them for what they mean to you.

My father taught me what it is to be a man.

Through his actions, not his words, he showed me things I wouldn't understand until later in life when I would need them the most.

He taught me that knowledge is more important than education, and the thirst for knowledge is more important than either.

He taught me to do something you love, because being happy is more important than money.

My father taught me to work hard, do the very best you can at what you do, and strive to be the best you can be. If you do something, he'd say, do it right. At the end of the day, the only thing others can know about you is how well you do your job, and how well you treat others.

He taught me to treat others well.

My father taught me what it is to be honest. Even when its difficult, being truthful is the honorable thing to do.

He taught me to stand up for what you believe in. For yourself, for your family, and for those who cannot stand up for themselves.

He taught me to provide for my family. Food and shelter are easy, time is much more difficult, and much more important.

Most importantly, he taught me to laugh. Laughter sweetens the good times, makes great memories, and gets us through the toughest of times.

My father didn't talk a lot during his life, but he gave me many lessons. Most of them I was too young, too stubborn or too proud to listen to at the time. He didn't stop teaching, and I'm glad to say he didn't give up. I hope he understood that somewhere along the line, they sank in. I get it now, Dad.

That reads like we could have had the same father.

 

[5StringBlues]

March 3rd will be 22 years since Dad passed.

My father and I never had a close relationship when I was younger. The death of my oldest sister in 1971 cause a family depression that I'm not sure any of us ever recovered from.

He was a work-a-holic who put everything he had into providing for his family. I was an aftterthought child as well so there was none of the throwing around the baseball or football that a lot of guys had.

We never really connected until a couple of years before he passed. I was back living with the folks temporarily and playing music fulltime. Music to him had ended with World War 2. I happened to play a Louis Jordan CD one day and he came out of his room and asked me, "What do you know about that music boy?" He came to see me play with an old blues keyboardist I was playing with that was his age and finally understood that I was a musician at heart.



After 20 years of telling me I needed to do something other than music, he accepted me.


A year before he died, he came and told me that if I was going to play blues, that I needed an upright bass.

We went the next day and he bought me a '53 Kay that is my prized possession.


I would give anything to have had him around another ten years and to have been able to really get to know him for real.


I love you Dad.