Dad Stories

The only time I have ever laughed a beverage out my nose while drinking was at the dinner table. It was orange juice. What made me laugh so hard? My dad spontaneously bursting into laughter. I think he did it on purpose.

Once when I was 8 or so, I fixed myself a plastic cup with my dad's favorite drink of the time: water and lemon. I went into the family room where he was watching TV and copied everything he did: laughed the same, took a drink at the same time, and even sat the same way. He acted like he didn't notice, but I suspect he did.

Dad and me just taking a break on the USS Alabama in Mobile. October 2010

 During high school, a friend of mine took down my street sign and gave it to me as a present. When my dad saw it, he told me that all road signs have been treated with a toxic chemical to discourage theft. I put the sign back. Looking back on it now, I'm pretty sure he just made that up so I wouldn't keep the sign.

On my 16th birthday, I got home from school and found my dad had taken the day off from work. He rented the movie "16 Candles" and gave me a gift he had special ordered well in advance. I remember that birthday better than any other birthday I've had.

My dad attended almost all of my Saturday morning soccer games. He was the only parent who didn't bring a folding chair to the game so he could move around the sidelines to be closest to where I was playing.

Driving the Lunar Rover at Kennedy Space Center.

Driving in the car with my dad was always an educational experience. I listened for hours to lessons about battles from World War II and the Civil War. Everything I know about American military history I learned from my dad - and I know a surprising amount!

If I ever had a crummy day, my dad could make it better. He'd let me list every single thing that went wrong. Then he'd say something like, "Well, let's go beat everybody up!" The words he said and the way he said it never failed to cheer me up and get me laughing.

When I got my wisdom teeth removed, he took the day off from work to take me to the dentist. On the way home he got me a milkshake from the best place in town.

We're not actually on Mars, it's one of those "put your face in the hole for a photo" things at the Astronaut Hall of Fame.

Last summer when Daniel was out of state for a month of training, my dad came all the way out to the middle of nowhere Mississippi in July to visit me for a week. That was the highlight of my summer.

I have been blessed with a wonderful dad. I love my dad more than words can express. Happy Father's Day!

My dad and me in Florida last November. This is my favorite picture of us together.