Some of you know my dad, whom I've mentioned before. But for those who really don't, he's coming up on 90 and continues to amaze us, and I think himself, with his daring-do! He lost his wife of 68 years, my mom, a month after I lost Ben. I don't know about him, but I've been continually humbled at the way both of us have come through it. The following is another of his adventures, emailed to his family, that I felt compelled to share. Any time you're in a funk, read it. Or just think about this 9-decades-young man doing his best to enjoy what we were put here for . . . to LIVE our lives with the time we're given.
Larry is my brother with advanced Parkinson's. Sandy is his ex-wife, and Phil is her "friend". I think that covers the cast of characters in this latest tale. The setting is in the northwest corner of Iowa, in a resort area consisting of a chain of glacier-carved lakes.
"LARRY PHONED YESTERDAY AND ASKED IF I WOULD LIKE TO GO OUT FOR DINNER. SO I PICKED UP HE AND THE DOG AND ASKED WHERE WE WERE GOING. HE REPLIED THE BAREFOOT BAR. I SAID I HAVE NEVER BEEN THERE. IT IS LOCATED, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, BY PARKS MARINA ON EAST LAKE, OUTDOORS WITH LOTS OF UMBRELLAS, 4 BARS, FOOD SERVICE AND THIS NIGHT THERE WERE TWO LIVE BANDS, ONE PLAYING WHEN WE ARRIVED ABOUT 5:30 AND THE OTHER TOOK OVER ABOUT 7 PM, BOTH ROCK AND ROLL. THE PLACE WAS LOADED. I ESTIMATED 500 PEOPLE, BUT BUTCH PARKS, THE OWNER, SAID HE GUESSED 800.
WE FIRST WENT TO THE FOOD SERVICE AREA AND SANDY TOOK OUR ORDER, AND PHIL WAS IN BACK WAVING AT US. HE IS THE CHEF. USED TO HAVE MILLERS BAY RESTAURANT. AND NOW HE AND SANDY ARE A PAIR. LARRY TOOK THE DOG AND FOUND A PLACE TO SIT IN THE SHADE WHILE I CARRIED THE TRAY OF FOOD. WE SAT AT A TABLE ALONE RIGHT BY ONE OF THE BARS AND NEXT TO THE BANDSTAND, WHERE THE SECOND BAND WAS SETTING UP. WE WERE TWO STEPS UP, SO WE LOOKED OVER THE CROWD, ALL FACING THE BANDSTAND. AND THIS WAS ONE OF THE MAIN ROUTES FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND GO, SO WE HAD A RINGSIDE SEAT, AND SOME REALLY GORGEOUS SCENERY PASSED BY US ALL EVENING LONG. IN FACT, ONE MAN STANDING NEAR US LEANED OVER AND ASKED IF WE WERE ENJOYING THE "SCENERY". WE OF COURSE SAID YES. LARRY MENTIONED THAT I WAS NEARLY 90, AND THE MAN ASKED IF THE SCENERY BACK IN THE 30'S AND 40'S WAS THIS GOOD. OF COURSE I SAID NO, NOT EVEN CLOSE.
FINALLY THE BAND RIGHT NEXT TO US STARTED IN, TALK ABOUT LOUD. AND OF COURSE IT WAS ROCK AND ROLL. LARRY AND HOLLY, THE DOG, AND I SAT THERE FOR NEARLY 4 HOURS! I WAS FASCINATED BECAUSE I HAD NEVER BEEN THERE. THE CROWD WAS HUGE, A FEW SILLY WOMEN AND LATER A FEW (SILLY) MEN AND KIDS DANCED IN FRONT OF THE BAND RIGHT BEFORE US.
BUT, I WILL NOT RETURN. I HAD FUN, BUT ONCE IS ENOUGH.
HOLLY, THE DOG, OCCASIONALLY PUT HER NOSE ON MY LEG SO I RUBBED AND PATTED HER. AND WHEN I QUIT SHE NUZZLED MY HAND FOR MORE. AND A COUPLE OF TIMES SHE PUT HER PAWS UP ON ME AND STOOD UP. LARRY SAID SHE LIKES TO DANCE SO HE STOOD UP AND TOOK THE DOG'S FRONT PAWS AND STOOD HER UP, AND THEY SWAYED TO THE MUSIC. A MAN SITTING DOWN BELOW US TOOK THEIR PICTURE.
IT BEAT SITTING IN A RESTAURANT. BUT JUST THIS ONCE.
I AM GAME FOR NEW EXPERIENCES. TIMES A WASTIN'."
Dad comes back to Prescott from mid-October through May. I guarantee you there will be "new experiences"! I make time for those. We didn't do many of the things I wanted to do last year, but, as he said, "times a wastin'." Every day of our lives is a bonus.
He'd do it if he didn't have his shoes on!
Hoopin' after all these years!
Kayaking on Watson Lk.
Dude! Your (fake) tat is showing! The Clint Eastwood look.
On the jet ski with brother Carl driving,
but he drives it, too!
My dad wasn't always like this, mind you. It's part of that "rejuvenation" I mentioned in my previous post. He had a living to make, and a family of 5 to upbring. But now it's his turn.
You live in the present,
not in the past . . .
be "game" for new experiences!
be "game" for new experiences!
1 comment:
Your dad sent that to me & it was a hoot! All that was missing was a photo of the dancing Holly dog. I had no idea who Sandy & Phil were/are, so now it's even a better story!
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