Sadly, Labor Day weekend is now entrenched in my brain as the weekend my dad died. It was September 1, 2001, to be exact. I failed to mention the third anniversary here, because… well, I don’t exactly know why.
I guess it is because I don’t want to make an annual tradition to light a bloggy candle for him. I don’t do it for my mother, who passed away in 1996, and it’s not like I love one of them more than the other. However, since I’m sitting here waiting for the storm to hit, I just noticed the coincidence of the Sept 1 date being the day the Indians rolled over the Yankees.
Dad was a Yankee fan when he was a kid and all the way up through his time in the service. Mickey Mantle was his hero. And while he listened to the Red Sox after getting “stuck” in Maine, he really didn’t take sides in the rivalry until Steinbrenner took over the Yanks. After that and the resulting free agent spending spree (he really, really, really despised Reggie Jackson), he became a true Yankee hater. I can just imagine the joy Tuesday night’s game would have brought him.
Of course, he was also a true Sox pessimist. His reaction to their 10 game winning streak would have been, “Yeah, they’ll probably have a one game playoff and lose it again.”
Stay dry and safe!
I love reading memories of fathers, thanks for sharing this one!
– Dana
Knowing your Dad, I’m sure he would have said that with a chuckle and a smile, though. And that sure is a cool thing.
I don’t know if this is sad or not, but I think I have as many fond memories of your Dad as I do of my own. Sigh. (I don’t have bad memories of my Dad, so it isn’t like that. I just didn’t spend all that much time with him, I suppose….) Your Dad certainly was pretty cool.
These sorts of things strike me, like when my boys want to play a video game with me, or some such.
Enough with the blahs, dammit. When’s that storm coming, anyway? Go Sox!
And I thought Packers fans were bad! These Sox/Yankees folks take things to a whole ‘nuther level.
It has been eight and a half years since my father died. Sometimes that seems like it was a million years ago, other times it seems like yesterday.
I know how hard it can be sometimes to talk about this stuff, so here’s a good wish to you for the day, friend.
Eek! Now you made me almost cry. T.T