A couple of years ago I saw an article in a magazine (I think it was Ladies Home Journal) about a project a woman did for her father on his birthday. I kept the article. This summer my sisters, mom, and I decided to try this project and collect 60 memories from 60 different people from our dad's life and give them to him for his 60th birthday.
As a child and teenager, I don't remember ever going out in public with my dad without someone who knew him stopping us to talk. I suppose that is common for all educators who spend over 25 years teaching, coaching, and administrating in one county. This memory, plus the surprising fact that since he became a grandfather we discovered dad is rather sentimental, made this project seem like the ideal 60th birthday gift.
One of my favorite letters was titled "The Story of the Principal, the Librarian, and the Cigarette Smoke". Another, which showcased what a great writer my uncle is, started with "I have heard my Grandmother P was half Cherokee....".
There were golf stories, Auburn football stories, faculty meeting stories, snow-skiing memories, and water-skiing stories. Lots of people mentioned hearing dad pray, and there were at least two references to him as a 16 year old school bus driver. And, of course, several cousins mentioned times they were in trouble with their Uncle - including soap in the mouth for a bad word, not being quiet while he is trying to sleep, and trying to yell out the window on the Panama City strip.
Thank you to everyone who made time to write down their favorite memory of dad. It was fun to hear his comments and additions to the stories as he read through them (it did take him two or three sessions to read them all), and I especially enjoyed stories from his child and teenage years. And mom made all of us read KHA's letter, which also made all of us cry.
PS - thank you BJS for the pictures....especially the pictures of his afro.
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