Saturday, August 20, 2011

Your time

When I was little I always called my kin by a title, if they were Uncles or Aunts. Uncle Doyle, Uncle Hisure, Aunt Julie, aunt Agnes, Aunt Bert and Aunt Ann (to name a few). I think that went out with my kids generation. sometimes they used the terms but not always. Of course we did not enforce it either.

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(My uncle Hisure and Aunt Agnes with Luke, our grandson)

I was the baby of the family, therefore did get more favors than the rest, mainly because Dad pastored churches that paid the pastor more. The thing I could never get over was the fact, I was always the baby. I never grew up.

At 17, I was given the job of drawing up a loading plan for the Ship I was to be deployed  on. The only rule I was given was, “Remember last on is the first off, you screw it up and I will have you a$$.”

New Folder (2) 007

(Ralph Smith, Me and the range instructor smoking our sights, Ralph has passed now, but here I was a kid of 17)

Every tank, truck, gun, and unit came off at the proper landing. Every level of the ship was loaded right. But my dad would not trust me to change the oil in my car. I was the high shooter in my company and missed the range record by one point (246 out of a possible 250). but my Dad was not sure I could check the air in my tires, etc.

For years I wondered when I would grow up in his eyes. We were stationed at GITMO Bay, Cuba. I got a call to my ‘Old Man’s’ office. You have an emergency call. My dad was dying, I was put on the next flight out. In the hours of the flights to Norfolk, then to Charlotte,  I could not picture the man of steel as dying. So much I wanted to tell him. Due to bad weather we could not land in Charlotte and the plane was diverted to Virginia. Dad passed away with all his children present except men as I circled Charlotte and could not land. I finally got home but dad was at the funeral home. Mom was devastated.

During that time trying to comfort mom and share with my brothers and sisters, several folks told me how proud dad had been of me and the things I had done.  We never got to share that. Since I do believe in a ‘here after’ I plan to talk to dad again.

But until then, now it is my time. My time to let my boys grow up. I thought they both were finally grown, now the youngest has reverted.

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(Sherece & Sherry, She is known in the family as Reececup, she is a great beautician)

My time to allow my grand children to be them selves. Yesterday I got the sweetest hug from a grand daughter. We were able to do a little extra for her. She called, she had a blow out on her little yellow VW Bug and needed a little help changing the tire. Thanks to a rent check from her dad, she now has four new tires. I got to drive the little bug. The thing drives great. Her dad & Mom gave it to her new, it now has 95000+ miles on it. It is a straight drive (I did let it die once or twice while driving it. LOL)

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(I photoshopped this picture to appear floating with Santa looking in the window of her Bug.)

The Reececup is pregnant and is going to present Sherry with a great grand child (and me too when I get old enough to be a great grandpa)

Our time has come and is passing, I hope I can handle it as well as my dad. I miss him tonight.

thanks for coming this way.

Nite Shipslog

PS: Aw….. laugh a little, from my understanding of medical terms:

Rectum......................... Near killed him
Secretion....................... Hiding something
Seizure.......................... Roman emperor

(I am getting a critique on medical terms from Mel, DD,PhP, MD of ‘’Honey I’m Home’ fame.)

 

This is as close as I could find to Dad’s last car. This is a 1969 Malibu, we gave Dad & Mom a 1968 like this. He was proud of that car. We traded with him, taking his older car to Cuba with us.

W69HV-CH007

8 comments:

Helen said...

I am so sorry that you didn't make it home in time to say goodbye to your dad.
It had been about 2 weeks since I last saw my dad. I still remember how his arms were outstretched to give me a goodby hug. So in a way I suppose I did get a goodbye hug, just a little early. Just like a dad to buy his daughter a new set of tires when she needed them. We have done that before also.
My dad makes me think of in that he loved cars. Knew how to work on them too.
Sherece is a beautiful woman. Helen

TARYTERRE said...

What a sad story that you weren't able to make it in home in time to say goodbye to your dad. I'm glad you made peace with the way it turned out. I bet he was very proud of all you had become. Great grandparents, wow, that is exciting. ENJOY! When I had grandchildren I wanted to be called GRAMMY, but the little ones insisted on GRANDMA, instead. Oh well...

Paula said...

Interesting story of your life. Glad you felt you could share it with us. Congrats on the coming baby for Sherry of course, you're too young. I bet when it gets here you're going to be the first to claim it.

shirl72 said...

Dad was very proud of you. I would hear all the time from Mother and Dad "That boy can do anything" he just wanted both us to be dependant on him and make him feel like we still needed him. Remember we are not suppose to be smarted than our parents. He was a stickler on tire's and oil changing. We were the last ones left at home. Kat was married and both older boys in the Navy. I just always wondered how they put up with us as teenagers because they were older parents. We do have good memories. We had wonderful Parents and I Thank God.

Shirl

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

We all have our time and there is certainly a time and place for everything they say under heaven. We try to the best with what time we have and even though it seems we failed sometimes, I think that there are for reasons that we may never know. So for your time, your dad's time, our families time and my time..I am thankful.

Ken Riches said...

That is hard, to be so close but to not have made it. I was lucky to have visited my Dad two weeks before he passed suddenly. That was in 1990.

Rose said...

Thank you for sharing that heartfelt story about your Dad. I know he must have been very proud of you. Sad you didn't get the opportunity to say your goodbyes.

I adore you and we never met, so your Dad surely loved you dearly.

Hugs, Rose

Fred Alton said...

Jack, I was in Indiana doing missions services when I got the call that Dad was dying. Like you, I didn't make it before he passed through to Heaven. Pain. But joy in knowing that we shall meet again. I've remembered often when our grandchildren reached 18-20 years of age and were about to make a crisis decision "Well...when I was their age I was wearing a .45, carrying and M1, and protecting this country." It's hard to believe it when you are our age, so must have been hard for our Daddys to let us grow up too.