Interview with Mr. Holly's Dad

A couple of days ago, I posted about an email that I received from my father.  You can read it here.
After that post I received several comments and many emails stating "what a hoot" my father was.  My father has always had an amazing sense of humor and I love his style.  When my father says something funny, he always says it with a straight face and then just starts laughing at himself.  His eyes tear up.  I think he's one of the funniest people I know.

So, I thought it might be fun to send him a few questions to answer and let you see his responses.  This was difficult but I did not edit any of his answers.

1) Do you read Holly’s blog every day? What are your thoughts about the kinds of things she posts about?

If your blog came in my snail mail box, I would read it every day. If it has a US stamp on it, I automatically believe it is critical. However, the ads from AARP, hearing aids and menthol suppositories have me wondering why I bother. Since I don't check the computer daily, I don't read it daily...but at least weekly.

I find your comments and pictures very interesting. Since you stay away from politics and religion, I find I have little to disagree with.
Since we live some 500 miles apart, this gives me a good glimpse into your daily life, your home and your thoughts. I find myself smiling, shaking my head, shedding an occasional tear and thinking you haven't changed a bit since we first met.

2) Holly has a lot of hobbies. What are some of yours?

My first response is that my hobbies have dwindled with my age.

Into my fifties I was still running marathons and more 10Ks than you can count. I enjoyed painting, woodcarving, building furniture, sport cars, drawing cartoons, cooking, cheap wine, growing a beard and sailing our boat in San Diego.
Now into my seventies, things have changed a bit. I still putz at most of these things but with less enthusiasm and energy. I still enjoy cooking, cheap wine, an occasional cartoon, subscribe to Sail magazine, think about taking a walk and focus more on Doctor appointments and enjoying the day that God has granted.

3) You have two daughters, in what ways are they different and in what ways are they similar?  Also, which one of us do you like the best?

This is a no-win question. Sort of like "Have you stopped beating your wife?" However I will do my best to answer. Since neither of you are 100 percent perfect nor 100 percent terrible, it comes down to a percentage rating. You have both done things that I long ago forgave but find impossible to totally forget.


Your stealing my car or flying off to Albuquerque when you were in High School without our consent to visit an old boyfriend falls into that category. Your sissy, on the other hand, seldom had grand adventures but presented smaller problems on a daily basis...such as leaving for school dressed in parent-approved garb only to have mascara, spiked heels and fishnet hose in her back pack.

So, given the fact that both of you survived your childhood and adulthood to date, I think it's 49 percent to 51 percent. I'll leave it up to you to decide which is which. However, if I could know which one of you would be changing my catheter in my old age, it would be a no-brainer.

4) What is your favorite memory as a father?

Well this is a delicate and difficult question to answer. Do you have any easy ones?

There were many great times we shared. Remember date nights, family vacations, birthdays, Christmas's, and being shaved by my daughters, with a butter knife and shaving cream, while sleeping on the floor.
Throw all those things into the bin and I might pick one day last week when I spoke with both you and your sister on the phone.

5) Remember that time when you were traveling across country and stopped at a Stucky’s and Holly wanted you to buy her that little Indian Doll and you said no? Why was that?

I had no direct objection to the Indian Doll. The objection was that we had given both you and Kelly $10 to spend any way you wanted before we left home.
I had stopped a few miles into our journey to buy gas and you spent the full $10 at that first stop on Red Rope, Jujubes and malt balls. (After that, we stopped every 10 miles for a while so you could upchuck.)
Your sister, on the other hand, had spent 10 cents on a pack of Dentyne. Some things never change...or at least they didn't while you were living at home.
I think that Indian Doll cost a quarter and if I had it to do all over again, I'd have bought you two of them...that way it wouldn't have resurfaced in this question 35 years later. Maybe I should have bought three.

6) If you had a time machine where, when and why would you go?

Hey, an easy one. I do have a time machine and it's my mind and memory, both of which still seem to function somewhat above 50 percent. In an instant I can call up your birth, birthdays and anything that has happened since 1938. I can recall you having a poem published in the school paper. Coming home and finding you in tears holding our 14 year old dog who was down in the backyard and couldn't get up.

Unfortunately, the thing about memory is that it is not selective and is set on random. If I had such a machine, I'd set it on Present and throw away the dial. Love ya, Dad

I love you with all my heart Daddy.

Holly Roo

xxx-ooo