https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvNO-M6t7FwWhen talking with my family about Dad this week, a few themes kept surfacing: enjoying life, putting others first, and nurturing children.
Dad loved to fish and would always take us fishing from the oldest of us to the youngest. He also had to fish a couple of us out of the water on several occasions and hunt for others of us who ended up not fishing at all but instead exploring and finding snakes and turtles. He also fished with neighbors, especially in Fort Gibson. Some of us enjoyed catching, cleaning, and eating the fish but others enjoyed the stop at the bait shop to pick up Little Debbies, sunflower seeds, and Hostess treats.
Dad’s love of fishing started young when his momma would tell him to go catch dinner. A lot of those dinners were fish, but the ones he talked about the most were when he’d bring home squirrel.
Speaking of food, Dad could have hosted his own Food Network show. He was a foodie before foodies were cool. We all enjoyed waking up to the smell of Saturday breakfast when he would make his special panny cakes (in the shape of whatever we wanted) and his own syrup. His homemade peanut brittle, Tabouli, custard pies, Christmas Tree cookies, peanut butter cookies, and cheese rolls all were legendary. The smells that came from the kitchen would remind us that everything was alright in our world.
He would bring along special treats for our vacations. I’m not sure why, but we always got Vienna sausages and Pop-Tarts while traveling but we didn’t really eat them any other time. Everything with Dad was an adventure. On more than one occasion, Dad backed over our suitcases. We didn’t realize they hadn’t made the trip with us until we got to our destination. We thought we upgraded one time by getting a roof cargo carrier until the carrier broke apart on the interstate and we had to cram everything inside the van with us. The suitcase issues were a little less dangerous than the times we drove off with the gas nozzle still connected to the car. Now you understand why everything was an adventure.
Dad was always up for a trip. We’d take drives into the country or to a park to explore nature. He had a grill kit ready for impromptu cookouts. He loved to watch Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom and if there was a nature center or zoo we could visit we would. We never flew anywhere, we always drove – Florida, Michigan, California and even Alaska. We’d canoe rivers, go to Six Flags, hike, swim in creeks and lakes, but I think his favorite place was the National Park in Sulphur – he loved that park, we loved that park.
Dad was always smiling, except when he was turning red and getting a technical foul while coaching basketball. One game in particular he received two technical fouls back to back because he was “yelling instructions” at me…I think the official knew who he really was addressing with his instructions. Dad was a competitor, stubborn at times, and liked to win. He wouldn’t give up and wouldn’t let you give up either. When we moved to Webbers Falls, the school had decided to end their football program, but Dad convinced them to let him have a go at coaching. A team that never won, ended up winning several games that year and Dad received coach of the year honors. The program that almost was cut, made it to the state semi-finals just a few years later under Coach Charlie Coleman. Dad believed in the kids and they believed in him.
When it came to coaching Dad believed that teaching was the most important factor. It wasn’t just about wins and losses, those would take care of themselves if you did things right. Susan’s nephew Cory sent a picture of Dad’s portrait hanging in Webbers Falls gym and told her about his coaching mentor “Jerry Ward” being mentored by “Dad.” Dad always believed that life has a way of coming full circle without you knowing how your actions may circle back. Cory’s stories to Susan verified Dad’s belief.
Dad was lucky, no matter if it was winning the jackpot at the local supermarket or down at the casino. He always seemed to hit it big and at t
