It's almost Father's Day and I've been thinking about my own father. He's been gone a long time. In fact, he's been gone 2 years longer than I actually knew him. It doesn't seem possible that it has been nearly 30 years.
William R. Murphy was my father, some of you may remember him. He was quite a guy, but then, most fathers are. Most fathers.
He had a grand sense of humor that he passed on to the rest of us. He taught us how to play cards, checkers and chess, but never let us win. Occasionally we might have actually beat him at one of these games, but that was because we had played the game well, not because he let us.
He was a snazzy dresser. Evolving through many fashion changes, even the bell bottom era. I remember one time my sister Lela bought him a pair of red plaid bell bottom pants. He thought he had died and gone to fashion heaven. My, he looked dapper, not everyone could pull off red plaid bell bottoms. He would grin and say he needed a walking stick, to keep the ladies at bay.
He always donned a hat before leaving the house and his favorite was the flat cap style. But, he never wore one inside a building, that would have been a showing of poor etiquette. How times have changed.
He could play twenty questions if we ever asked for money. Why did we need it? What were we going to do with it? How much would we come back with? By the time he was done, we wished we hadn't asked.
Every Christmas, he amazed us with his magical trait of being able to guess what we had bought him. We never learned his ability to have a 'poker face' when he guessed right, but then, we never learned not to ask.
I was the youngest of his three daughters, arriving late in his life. My sisters, Lela and Blanche, had the privilege of knowing him in his younger years. Years spent on the farm and a different life, they have many memories and stories from those times.
The odd part about him being gone is, that if he were still here, still alive, walking this earth, he would be celebrating his 101st birthday this month.
30 years, in the blink of an eye. If your father is still here, take the time this weekend to remember him. Celebrate the Day of the Dad. Laugh, reminisce, and enjoy his company. Don't just do it for one day, do it as often as you possibly can. Life is not equal in its expenditures.
If you're a father, remember this. When your children are young, and you look into their eyes, to them, you can do no wrong. That's just the way it is, it's a guy thing, a dad thing.
If you're father wasn't the best, at least take the time to acknowledge that without him, you wouldn't be here.
Happy Father's Day Daddy, we miss you.
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