The\u00a0Owens River, in California, was one of Dad\u2019s favorite places to go fishing.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Click to enlarge; click again to enlarge further.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
My father would have celebrated his 102nd birthday today. \u00a0But, unfortunately, he\u2019s been gone for slightly more than twelve years now.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I miss him enormously, and I think of him every day.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been thinking of him today<\/em>. \u00a0There are so many stories I recall that might illustrate his character and personality.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s one that represents what he called his \u201cNorwegian sense of humor\u201d:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
He had a good friend by the name of Pat Carney. \u00a0They used to meet for breakfast every weekday morning at the local greasy spoon, the Chico Cafe (aka the \u201cChico Ritz\u201d), along with other local businessmen there in South El Monte, California \u2014 including, until his sudden, premature death in 1973, my Uncle Ernie, who was Dad\u2019s brother and business partner.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
At one point, Pat had our construction company\u00a0do an asphalt parking lot for him.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a pretty routine\u00a0job, and it went well \u2014 which is to say, normally. \u00a0But then, one morning, several\u00a0months after the parking lot\u00a0was finished, Pat arrived at the Chico Cafe quite exercised. \u00a0He\u2019d detected some weeds growing up around the perimeter of the parking lot or perhaps (I don\u2019t quite recall) through a crack in it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell?<\/em>\u201d he demanded. \u00a0\u201cWhy are there &@$% weeds coming up in my parking lot?\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Of course, such things happen<\/em> from time to time. \u00a0It\u2019s not a crisis. \u00a0But Pat was really<\/em> ticked off.<\/em><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
So, to calm him down, Dad told him that our company employed a full-time weed specialist.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou do?<\/em>\u201d replied Pat.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, we do,\u201d Dad answered him, promising that he would have that specialist on the job and at work before noon.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSee that you do<\/em> it!\u201d said Pat, still not quite mollified.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Just around lunchtime, Pat called on the phone. \u00a0\u201cWhat the hell?\u201d<\/em> he demanded again. \u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s a @#$%&*$#@ing goat<\/em> staked out here on my parking lot! \u00a0Did you have anything to do with that?\u201d<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI told<\/em> you that I was sending my weed specialist,\u201d Dad answered, with sweet calm.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a long pause, and then Pat burst out laughing.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We took care of the problem in the conventional way, with an herbicide, later that day. \u00a0The friendship was definitely back on track.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
My Dad had gone immediately back to his office after breakfast that morning and called a friend who (for some reason) kept a couple of goats. \u00a0\u201cMay I borrow one of them for an hour or two?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSure!\u201d said the friend.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dad picked it up, took it over to Pat\u2019s parking lot, drove a stake into the ground, and tethered the goat to it \u2014 and that intuitively expert specialist\u00a0did indeed eliminate the weeds.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 My father would have celebrated his 102nd birthday today. \u00a0But, unfortunately, he\u2019s been gone for slightly more than twelve years now. \u00a0 I miss him enormously, and I think of him every day. \u00a0 I\u2019ve been thinking of him today. \u00a0There are so many stories I recall that might illustrate his character and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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