Dad's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Since his birthday falls on a Thursday this year, thirteen things about my favorite dad...

1. He is seventy-five years young this year!

2. He gave wonderful piggy-back rides when I was a little girl and he could also turn me into a "sack of potatoes" and throw me over his shoulder.

3. He had just one brother but 46 cousins.

4. His grandpa taught him to play the harmonica when dad was a little boy.

5. He not only plays harmonica but guitar and banjo, and he also has a jaw's harp (Jew's harp?) which he used to play on rare occasion.

6. He is a polio survivor. The doctor said he would always be crippled but his mother took him to see an osteopath who helped him learn to use his legs again.

7. Dad took us camping every year when we were little girls. We usually camped not far from home often in our own hometown.

8. Dad grew a weedless vegetable garden.

9. Dad instilled in me a love for country gospel hymns and bluegrass music. Oh yeah, and a little bit of love for folksongs too!

10. He bought one house in his lifetime and still lives there today.

11. He's a great storyteller, book reader, and picture drawer.

12. He would do almost anything for his children. Once he drove all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico just to bring James, Jimmy, and me back home to NY state.

13. I wouldn't trade him for the world. He is the most loving, dedicated, and devoted man I know!