Two Magnificent Fathers

I spent the morning of this first Father's Day without him by going to visit his parent's resting spot.  I brought some of my dad with me, and left some of him behind, resting him in between his mother and father.  That's him there, in the shamrock box.  I think that is a statue of Mary, watching over him.  In my soul, I hope that their reunion, of sorts, brings more peace to their after-life.  A shout out to my Grandma that is resting just to the left of my Granddaddy.

When His Pappy brought him East in '41

They came east for a job here, at the Portsmouth Navy Yard, that is named the "Norfolk Navy Yard."  He was 10 years old when he came east, for his family to escape the severe effects of the Great Depression in South Dakota, where there was no work for his dad.  Although his core was mostly formed by his time out on the Great Plains, it's nice to be here around his teenage stomping grounds.

Enter.....Portsmouth

When he was brought east by his dad, they moved to Portsmouth, VA.  This is where I would spend many happy days with my Granddaddy and Grandma at their home here.  The last time I drove through here, was 2004.  I was traveling nearby for work and decided to drive through Portsmouth for a brief drive-by of my Granddaddy's old house.  I called my dad for help finding the right turns.  He asked me where I was, I told him, and without missing a beat (and despite him not being in Portsmouth for like 20 years) he says, "You are going to come around a curve, and then you will see a restaurant with a chicken on it's roof."  I go, "Dad, what??"  He says "you'll see."  I come around the curve, and sure enough there it is, a chicken on top of a restaurant.  

Soundtrack of His Life (1)

It is probably a little bit overstated to say that the song "Charade" is a part of his soundtrack from his life.  But he put together a list of songs that was made into a CD of all his favorites that span a very long period of time.....big bands to the Beatles to Billie Holiday.  This movie Charade has a song from the movie, aptly named "Charade" that he had on 'his cd.'  This old movie poster is in my building, on the street level......I walked past this 4 times before, until I noticed it today. It amazes every time I turn and see something that reminds me of him, how it's just right there.  I must rent this movie immediately.   

History

He was a true lover of history, and he also loved politics.  He grew to really believe in Obama, although I never heard him say, without a doubt, that he would vote for him....but he sure was leaning that way.  I just wished he had been here as the votes started coming in during this remarkable primary.  I know he loved how much I have been moved and inspired by Obama.  And I know that tonight he would be on the phone with me discussing how beautiful this night is, for him, for me, for Obama, for Ann Durham.  I hope they are both watching this.....

Murder

Murder, She Wrote.  He really was a big fan.  He and I would sit and watch these episodes back in the day on Sunday nights.  We would try to solve the murder mysteries that seemed to follow Jessica Fletcher around.  She really was a murder magnet.....anyway, we would both concentrate, and every once in awhile we would claim to know who "did it."  I was rarely right. He was frequently fooled too.  Damn MSW writers!  This is her solving the mystery of her good ol' friend's murder of a hit man.  If he were here, we would be cracking up that Jessica Fletcher was dear friends with this guy, Gambini.  

Filing Systems

He was not much for organization or order.  So one of my 'early jobs' was to help him at his pub by filing his invoices.  I remember there being so much paper, it was both piled in messy clumps and scattered about all over his office.  They were from so many different vendors....like the one above.  Instant Whip.  I did this for him for years because his lack of neatness was never to change.  I see the trucks of the different vendors driving around town a lot, it's funny the things you remember.  

Gadzooks

Friends lit up a BBQ and I just took a random shot of the flames.  Its the same type of old-school grill he would use back in the day.  He would cook up these delicious steaks that he got from his dad.  He wasn't a cook....but he could grill.  We would sit out there and watch him do it and just hang with him.  One time when we were quite young, he picked up the tongs and they (evidently) were burning hot, because he dropped them quickly, yelling "GADZOOKS!!"  This was his way of cursing. From then on, we thought tongs were actually called 'gadzooks' and that is what we call them to this day.  

Russell Stovers Part Two

It gets even more serious....if I brought him a box of candy, he would say "did you get the right kind?"  Meaning, it could not be RS Cremes (seen in the picture below, bottom left) or God forbid it was "sugar free" (seen in the picture below, bottom right)....it had to be this version (seen above).  The kind that had nuts, caramel and some other non fancy chocolate candies.  The last time I brought him a box, he was sick.  He ate them very slowly, and the box lasted far too long by his standards.  And yes even then he asked, while trying to open it "did you get the right kind?"  I'll never forget his disappointment when I told him RS was RED, but I cut us both slack on that one.

This is the first post that has made me smile while typing it.

Russell Stovers

Tonight I had to run into a random grocery store to pick up a few quick things.  I was sort of out of it, because I had just left an event where I had to speak of him, and what he meant to me.  I had a runny nose and puffy eyes as I wandered through the store, down this random aisle.  I just happened to look over to my left, and there it was....the Russell Stovers jack pot.  He loooovved this chocolate.  He told me over and over how it was the best, bar NONE, chocolate.  He would literally turn his nose up at Godiva, and Whitmans was a joke to him.  This was it, the best, hands down.  It was a ritual for him at Christmas time to get some for himself and pretend it was a gift in his stocking.  Then he would get us each our own.  And he'd tell us when we opened them, "if you need any help with that, let me know" and he would giggle at himself like it was the funniest joke in the history of the world.