What More Could A Father Ask For......
I will say it again....I am a very lucky man to have the children and grandchildren that I have...they make me proud to be their Dad and even though at times it seems like they aren't listening to Dad's advise...in the end they always do the right thing...not that dad is always right..they just end up doing the right thing...they are guided by their own moral compasses and that compass is true...I'd like to think that I had some part in that alignment but in the end they have to choose which fork in the road they will take every day and that decision is guided by what's inside each of them.....
Father's Day was great... I got to go over to Kevin's house and see my three fantastic grandchildren...Kevin got a backyard swing for Father's Day and it was a load of laughs trying to figure out which branch of the tree to hang it on....we had only one choice that would keep it away from the trunk far enough to allow it the right space to swing...of course that branch was one of the thinnest on the tree...I sure hope it holds up..if that branch breaks it probably won't hurt anybody but it will scare the crap out of them....lets put it this way...the branch was so thin that the eye bolt that came with the swing went all the way through to the other side...
Kevin said he probably won't use it much..no offence to my daughter-in-law Dianne and the kids but he just wasn't comfortable in it...we all had a laugh when he said that if he ever fell asleep in it that he would look like this and wake up with a stiff neck...
They were going to take it back for a trade up to a hammock but once Dianne got in it she claimed it for herself...she says Kev will still get the hammock but the swing chair stays...
We all got to hang around...no pun intended.. and watch and give advise on the swing installation...Kev and Dakota got the first ride...Dakota was not happy to be on Kev's lap this is the first time she has seen her Uncle in a few months and at this age..if a few months goes by...you have to re-introduce yourself...I even had a few minutes of..."who the hell are you"...looks when I first saw her again and I had just seen her in April...
Shannon is due in December with child number two for them and grandchild number five for me...Travis has got two more years in the Air Force and is still deciding if he wants to stay and be an Officer or join the federal employee ranks...perhaps FBI, DEA or CIA....he can use his years in service and get a great job with his Combat Arms Instructor skills...he has a couple of years to make up his mind....who knows what will be happening around the world by then....
I got to have supper with Travis & family, Kelsey and Andy for Father's Day...Dakota was a doll as usual....she looks better in my hat than I do....she found out that Blue Cheese salad dressing is better if you just stick your whole hand in it and then lick it off....we all thought the mess she made was cute...I'm sure the waitress wasn't so happy after we left...I gave her a little extra tip to cover the hardship of cleaning up the mess...that should have eased the pain...
A father's love is unflinching....a big strong military man will even suck on his child's pacifier rather than see her get a strangers germs after it has hit the floor in the restaurant...Hey Travis let me know if there is a cure for whatever you come down with...
In other proud father news....My son Ryan had his Police Academy graduation this past week...He not only was the highest achiever on all academic tests he was chosen as the best overall student of the class...which includes shooting, academics, role play and physical fitness training....He wouldn't let me show his face on the blog...but I will show you his back getting his certificate and awards and a blurry picture of him giving his speech as top student...it was a very well thought out and delivered speech and made me even prouder...he thanked his instructors and his fellow students and was very humble...in Rochester in particular a cop has a very dangerous job...one of his fellow graduates has already found out how dangerous...he, like Ryan..has been out on the streets on patrol for the last several weeks...he was stabbed by a perp in a family dispute...he managed to subdue his assailant and make an arrest...Ryan has already had his gun out several times and has made one of the larger drug busts in the last few months while doing a traffic stop....God bless you all.....
Kyle is doing great in Wyoming...he has finally settled in and... as of yesterday...the Mustang is ready for the road..HOORAY....He sent me a picture of himself in a pair of safety glasses he bought for two bucks....hey Kyle.. I think you paid about a dollar ninety to much...good for a laugh though....
Some other odds and ends....I have spent several pleasant hours down on the dock fishing for perch and have been having some pretty good luck...I have yet to catch a smallmouth bass yet this season...I helped my neighbor Tom's son Hunter rig up his pole with one of my homemade jigs and in a few minutes he was fighting to stay on the dock when a good size smallmouth hit his plastic kiddie pole...it took the three of use to wrangle the hapless fish to the dock...way to go hunter you out fished me and got a great picture and memory...congratulations..... P.S. The fish was released safe and sound....
I met a man who carves and sells walking sticks...not canes...but the seven or eight foot tall...Moses-like walking sticks....he hand carves some very interesting characters on them... I am going to give him one that I purchased several years ago... that is rather plain.. to endow with his fantastic images....here are a couple of pics that he emailed me...you can contact him at floodminnow@yahoo.com for more info....very reasonably priced by the way.....
My friend Lisa (on left) was here for a week...she was taking a week long certificate course at the local and apparently world renown Wine and Culinary Institute here in town...she won't know if she passed the course for several more days..the tests are graded in London....well La-De-Da...it was great seeing someone from my second home again...I do miss my Florida friends very much...but I do have some great New York friends as well... she and my friend Dina hit it off and we had several great meals together while Lisa was here....
I eat breakfast at Patty's Place here in town every morning...the other day I met a man who was traveling across country by bike as a personal holiday for himself....he has been taking care of an ill wife for awhile and his children gave him an early Father's Day gift of taking care of their mom while he does his thing....here is a pic of him and Patty outside her restaurant....I wish him well and pray for his wife....God Bless....
Last but not least a couple of unique sunsets that I thought you would enjoy.....
