Happy Birthday

Last Friday, May 21st, was my dad's birthday.  It wasn't just any birthday, it would have been his 90th.  He was a 1920 model.  My father died in 1999, before Hurricane Floyd.  Don't know why I always think of that when I remember the year he died, but I do.  Guess our minds like to put things in order or it could be because he was always so watchful of the weather.

Me and Daddy - March 1960

When I was a little, I would ride around with him in the farm truck checking the fields.  My dad was a farmer, so the weather was important to him.  He was alway telling me, "Watch the clouds, you can tell what's getting ready to happen if you just watch the clouds, little girl."  So, I still look at the clouds and remember the names he would give them.

He was a quiet man and I only remember one time that he threatened to punish me.  Don't even remember what it was for, but it was enough to make me listen if he spoke.

Daddy served in World War II and was a awarded several medals.  He had three other brothers serving at the same time.  I try to imagine how my Grandma Lee felt with four sons away at war.  Never really thought about it till I saw the movie 'Saving Private Ryan'.  And back then, when you left for military service during the war, you didn't come back home every six months, you were gone.

Fiji Islands - WWII

Daddy lost one brother, Boyd, to the war.  He died in France so I never got to meet him.  My dad went all over the world with Uncle Sam, Fiji Islands, Hawaii, and when he got home, he didn't want to leave again.  I asked him one time if he would like to go on a cruise with my mother.  His answer was a quick, "NO!"  Seems he was transported to those far away places by ship and he, like me, didn't do well with the motion of a boat.  I can get seasick just riding through the turns and twists in the mountains.  He was the same way.  I can't imagine being packed into one of those transport ships with no air conditioning, chores that had to be done and wanting to be back home more than anyone can imagine.  He never complained about it, just didn't talk about it much.

When I talked with my mother last Friday, she asked me if I remembered it was his birthday.  "Of course," I said, "it would have been his 90th birthday."

Happy Birthday Daddy, I am still watching the clouds.

PCQ