Father

Dad- garage sales, golfing, marbles, cards, horseshoes,no coats in winter, walked to work every day, worked sometimes three jobs at a time, pipe and cigars ,chair conformed to his body, Detroit baseball and little league,painting, camping trips, arms around his neck, "father" , called me doll... Fishing with Adam,loved watches, loved flirting with waitresses, loved the US ,a vet, loved his family, a good ol' boy, fried fish, biscuits and gravy, banana pudding. These are random thoughts about the man I called "Father." Whenever I see garage sale signs, I think of my dad. He used to love looking for little treasures among other people's throwaways, and he was good at it! He would find some little gem for pennies on the dollar, but would always ask the seller, "Now, are you sure this is what you want for this?" Then, he'd be giddy if he was able to buy it. He and Mom gave me the most beautiful china pattern - six place settings- that they had found for 5 dollars. Another time, they found an antique doll for me that he paid 3 dollars to get. Yep, he was good at that, but, more importantly, he got enjoyment from chatting with strangers, getting out and about, being with mom, and finding hidden treasure. He even used to have a metal detector that he'd take to the beach. He would find jewelry, coins, etc., and the search was an amusing diversion for him. Dad was a simple guy with simple pleasures, not one ounce of pretentiousness and genuinely kind. I found out a couple years before he died, that he really liked me to call him "Father ", and he was disappointed when I stopped stopped calling him that,and started calling him "Dad" - because my friends thought the word Father was aloof and impersonal. Go figure... My dad thought it showed love and respect, and since I was the only child who kept calling him Father as an adult,he saw it as word associated with me.I didn't know that, apologized for listening to my friends' opinions and went back to calling him "Father". Gosh I miss him!