Today, I long to be in Pasadena with my Daddy, celebrating his 82nd birthday...celebrating his life and the fact that I am still able to celebrate with him. I will celebrate with him...I just won't be able to do it in person today. But all day he'll be on my mind and I know I'll be rewinding my memories and replaying them over and over and over...most of them I mentioned on Father's Day, so I won't repeat them all here, but I was thinking the other day how so many of my memories about Daddy involve food - our trips to Whataburger for hamburgers, fries, and chocolate shakes; warm cashews or fresh malted milk balls in Sears; and my favorite meal growing up: cornbread, pinto beans and ketchup, all mashed together, which was one of his favorites and that's how we got started eating it. It's so delicious, but looks like someone threw up on the plate - I loved trying to get my friends to taste it.
Many of my memories of Daddy involve big, old houses. I don't know if it's because of him that I love them or if we just happen to share the interest, but one of my favorite things to do is tour historic mansions - I've lost count of how many times I've been in the Bishop's Palace in Galveston. But we didn't just go on authorized tours...my first experience with the ritzy River Oaks neighborhood of Houston was driving through it with Daddy, looking at the houses, even creeping up a driveway (in the car) just enough to catch a glimpse of a mansion behind a tall wall or hedge.
Years later, when my high school friend Laura married Bob Sakowitz and lived in one of those mansions right on River Oaks Boulevard (only 8000 square feet...it was one of the older, smaller ones...), and Laura gave us a tour after one of our girls' night outs, even tiptoeing through their bedroom where Bob was sleeping, I thought of Daddy and the times we had driven through the neighborhood, wondering what the houses looked like on the inside. Now I knew. And they were pretty cool, just as we suspected...
...I called this evening and wished him a happy birthday and told him I love him. The party will be at Sudie's Catfish House in Pasadena tonight - in fact, they're there now...my sister, brother, their families and my parents...later they'll head back to Mama and Daddy's for cake and ice cream.
I wish I was there.
Here's Daddy with his mom and dad, just getting started...
Here he is, still a teenager in WWII - I'm sure the most handsome sailor in the Navy...
Circa 1970...caught him in my room...
With Mama, in 1973...
Daddy and I graduate from Square Dancing Class together...1981
With most of his brood...Donnie, me, and Brenda, on this past Father's Day...
