RaisingDad

I'm not especially mechanically inclined. If I fix something, it's because I have to, not because I want to. Or am able to.      My Dad, on the other hand... well, let me put it this way: At one time, there wasn't anything he couldn't fix, take apart, or put back together. When he was stationed in the Philippines during World War II he built a washing machine using an empty barrel and a broken down jeep.      Don't believe me? Well, I've got the pictures to prove it, buddy. In one, my Dad's standing shirtless next to his invention, with the biggest, proudest smile on his face, and, let me tell you, in his youth, my Dad looked pretty darn buff without his shirt on.      Today, I'm in the kitchen replacing the water faucet. Don't ask me how it broke, but it broke. Let's just say they don't make things the way they used to, and leave it at that. When you think about it, companies would go out of busines...

Telling you guys my muffin story a few weeks back put me in the mood for some, so, on my way home recently, I stopped and bought some, because, not only was I in the mood for something sweet, but my much-older brother was coming in from out of town and it would be something nice for us to nosh on while we're having our morning coffee. My brother loves coffee, too, but next to me he's an amateur.      When my brother comes into town he usually stays with us. He says it's because he doesn't see us often and wants to make up for lost time. I tell him it's because he's too cheap to stay at a hotel, and we both laugh.      He thinks I'm joking.      The one time he did stay at a hotel it was a real nice one that served a nice, hot breakfast. I went to see him one morning, and he took me to where it was served. I enjoyed myself so much that I still go there on occassion to eat, even though nobody I know is stay...

Yesterday, when I took my Dad to his doctor's appointment, he came out of his room smelling like he had bathed in Listerine. Needless to say, the smell of Listerine was so overwhelming on the trip there that it was almost more than I could take.      The ride to the doctor's office was a bunch of "...ahhh's..." Clicks. "...hmmm's..." Smacks. "...ooohwee's.... " Not from me. From my Dad. But if I live long enough I can see myself making all those same noises.      Which brings me to today. We've had some warm weather here, lately. High 70's to mid-80's, but starting tomorrow the weather will cool down. It will drop to the mid-60's with a chance of rain. Enough rain to dirty my black SUV. Why did I buy black. I knew better, but I still did. You know, I used to think that SUV's were only for families with kids, but they're also for families with 90 year-old kids. A 94 year-old kid, to be exact.      Life doesn...

Yesterday, my wife and I went out and bought some good steaks. The weather's been kind of nasty lately, with high winds and heavy dust, but the gods have given us a respite, so we thought we'd take advantage of it and barbecue.      When I say "we," what I actually mean is "me." Not that I'm complaining. My wife is in charge of all the cooking that goes on inside of the house, and tells me that I'm in charge of all the cooking that goes on outside of the house. I do what I'm told. It's easier to barbecue, than to spend the next few days hearing about why I didn't.      My wife loves my Dad. He's cranky, cantankerous, and curmudgeonly... but he grows on you. So she really goes all out when she serves him.      "You won't have him forever," she tells me, as she looks over the cooked beef.      "Showing preference to your father-in-law over your husband goes against the ...