Things my father would not understand, he would have turned 100 today.

My Dad

My Hero

As we approach Mother's Day I am writing about my Father, had he lived, he would have turned 100 today. He was Born May 6, 1916 in Adrian, GA.  Few of course are blessed to make this milestone and Daddy died relatively young compared to today. But he lived a full and exciting life and was a hero not just to me but to many.

 He was a quiet and soft-spoken man with the cutest grin that could melt hearts. He was the smartest man I ever knew or maybe the wisest. He came from the farmlands of middle Georgia and saw the world via the Navy. He knew how to make or fix most anything, he was a pharmacist mate in the Navy and knew more about drugs and the human body than any doctor I have ever met. He had even done autopsies and removed an appendix on a ship. (WWII wartime efforts which I am sure would never fly today.) On every National holiday we would hang the flag and he with a tear in his eye. I will never forget that memory.

 He finished out his life working at the CDC researching and producing the polio vaccine. Polo was rampant at the time and his work truly saved lives. If you remember seeing children in leg braces or iron lungs you will understand his desire to slay that disease.

I was born when my Dad was 42. We would often hear when out in public, "What a cute little granddaughter you have." We would just smile and thank folks and go on our way, grinning all the while. We never had a lot of money but enjoyed simple pleasures. My father taught me my love of gardening. We planted tomatoes and ate the fruit of that labor in summer sandwiches. We planted four-o'clock and zinnia seeds and enjoyed our bounty.  He even helped me sew a doll dress one time, well he did most of the sewing but we bought a pattern and picked out fabric and cut it all out, if you want to amaze your daughter gents, try that one out, a feat never to be forgotten by this daughter. He taught me my love of the ocean and water. My Dad, in his sixties, was right there with me body surfing in the ocean and loving every minute of it. Another unforgettable memory.

We were a science home and talked about science often. I was terrible with math and my father was a math savante. I regret to tell you that I never acquired that learning or gifting. Darn. We talked about politics often as well, my parents both worked for the federal government so the decisions made by politicians directly affected their lives, often this was a dinner time conversation. Perhaps my friends can understand me better now.

As this anniversary approached I was just trying to imagine all of the amazing advances in so many areas that my father had seen in his lifetime. I have seen so many advances in my own lifetime and as I reflected on those I was just imagining if Daddy could walk back in the door, would he be astonished at what he would experience or see? I think he would.

• Television - television has gone from a big box to a slim profile on a wall or stand. The  broadcast picture is clear and amazing and no more turning channels with a knob or rabbit ears with aluminum foil. (Google it youngsters if you don't understand that comment) Broadcasting goes on 24 hours and news is instantaneous.  He would be amazed. Content has changed too, where is Carole Burnett when we need her? Renting a movie via your smart TV or Redbox would astonish as well. As would the continuous news cycle. No longer do we walk to the mailbox to catch up on news via the evening paper.
• Audible books - yes he knew of books on tape but to download a book as I walk the neighborhood and then listen to it on my phone I am sure would be mind boggling to him.
• Google - or the internet - the world wide web would astonish and amaze my father no doubt. Most every resource in the world, interconnected and at our finger tips. What a resource he could have never imagined.
• Cell or mobile phones - Dad would have heard the term "mobile" phone but those were for golf clubs or marina's not the average joe. We now hold in our hands phones that are mini-computers with more memory and power that the computer that sent Apollo 11 to the moon, astonishing.
• Sushi - well he would have understood it because he was stationed in Japan during WWII but sushi on every corner in a country that is so land locked - not an island with plentiful seafood- this would surely astonish him. Also Mexican, Cuban, Panamanian, El Salvadorian or any of the bounty of ethnic foods we now enjoy. But, he would try and probably love them all.
• The change in social mores and the decline in church, belief in the Bible or prayer - he was a man of God so this would be foreign to him.
• Medical advances - advances of genetic testing and tailoring medicine or treatment to an individuals genetic makeup would be the stuff that he and his colleagues could only have dreamed.
• There are many, many more and I am sure you could all had several to my list.

He would so love to see how his family has grown and prospered. He would love to see his grandchildren and great grand children, to see them head out in their happy and successful lives would probably be the greatest thrill of all. He would be so blessed.

He blessed our lives and sent us out with his wisdom, we are the ones who have been truly benefitted.

100 years of legacy, may we all be so fortunate to have those who come after us look fondly at our own lives.

 Happy Birthday Daddy, my hero.