Father’s Day Gift Suggestions

Ok, last night, as I was driving home, I was listening to the radio – an unusual occurrence, as I generally listen to an audio book on my iPod, but I had just finished the book I was listening to, and wasn't prepared to decide which audio book to start next while I was driving – that's a major decision. Where was I? Oh, yes, I was listening to the radio and a commercial came on for a tattoo parlor in town that is having a "Grand Opening" this weekend. As the commercial washed over me, it mostly went in one ear and out the other until the words "great Father's Day gift idea" and "give Dad a gift card" stopped inside my brain like a semi truck's tires squealing to stop for a red light on the Expressway. I took a moment to imagine my father's reaction if I were to have given him a gift card to a tattoo parlor for Father's Day… or at any time, really. I always considered him to be the most difficult person to buy gifts for, with a close second being Steve, Boss #1. But a tattoo parlor gift card? Not that he'd have to use it for a tattoo. They also do piercings. Dad didn't react horribly when I came home from Charleston with five jewel-toned cat paws on my right shoulder. In fact he was mostly inquisitive about if it hurt and what it was like. But I was 40 years old at the time; what was he going to do? Ground me? And besides they are awfully cute. Of course, I don't have to worry about gift ideas for Father's Day this year. I don't know why, but Dad has been present in my dreams a lot lately - more so than in the previous6-9 months. It may be because we're coming up on the anniversary of his death, or because Father's Day is coming up. A woman in the office, she's a sweetie, wouldn't purposely say anything to hurt anyone, was talking about how she was going to take her father to a concert for Father's Day – some country singer who's like 100 years old – I can't recall who – and it was going to be quite a sacrifice for her because she doesn't like country music, but she was doing it for her dad and she knew he'd enjoy it. After she wondered off from our area, she quickly came back apologizing to me and Julie. Neither of us knew why, so we asked. She said she just realized she was rambling on about her dad and Father's Day when it occurred to her that we'd both lost our fathers a year ago this July. I couldn't speak for Julie, but I assured her that it hadn't bothered me and that there was no need to apologize. I don't just sit morosely thinking about Dad. He wouldn't have wanted me to. I do miss him, though. Especially anytime mom says, "Surely, …" Because Dad loved to respond with "Don't call me Shirley" from Airplane. Or there were plenty of lines from the old Stan Freberg comedy albums I grew up listening to that he'd come out with, expecting Mom to respond with her line –which she'd flub up, and then he and I would shake our collective heads at her and laugh. Mom was Dad's straight man… now she's mine. Fortunately for her, or she might say UNfortunately, when it comes to me and Dad's sense of humor and quick wit, we are two peas in a pod. As I said, Dad has been in my dreams a lot lately. Not that I'm dreaming about him per se. I have the type of dreams where I'm doing something and people from all places and times of my life just happen to be there… could be my 4th grade teacher, and my college roommate and I are in a store shopping for Fig Newtons. You know, that type of dream. The most recent one, there were a bunch of people roaming around the property where we live, doing a variety of things, i.e., yard work, painting the garage, etc., and it was very crazy and hectic and at some point I wandered up on the front porch and found Dad sitting on a lounge chair with Merle, the cat – Dad loved Merle. So I sat down with him to rest and talk. It was nice. But then the alarm went off and I missed him again.