This is my favorite photograph of my father (the one in the lower left with the glasses). I just love his confident and relaxed appearance in this image. My dad was a carpenter on a navy ship for many years, sailed mostly to Korea and Japan, before he met my mother. My father was a kind and hard working man, but, alas, not without his vices. He was also a heavy smoker and neglected his blood pressure and as a result he suffered a debilitating stoke at a very young age (56yrs). I was 14yrs old when my father entered a nursing home permanently due to extensive brain damage and paralysis. He resided there for 18 long years before dying of a heart attack.
What I admired most about my father:
His good honest heart and his desire to experience the world.
Lessons that I learned from my dad:
He was a rather quiet man and always listened to classical music on the radio when tinkering in the basement. I learned introspection from him.
What I remembered him enjoying:
Deep sea fishing, Alaska (he always wanted to go, but never did), cartoons (Bugs Bunny and Wile E Coyote/Roadrunner in particular), Western movies, construction, the great outdoors.
His background:
He was born in Munderkingen, Germany and immigrated with his parents to Wisconsin at a very young age. I never heard him speak German.
Lessons that I will take away from his life:
Don't smoke. Nothing good comes out of it. Eat healthy. Take care of your body.
Before I started reading I thought. This could be any bar in Wisconsin. The small town to the south of where I live used to have old men talking German at the bar all the time. Not so much any more. ... I keep looking up at the photo like I have been to that bar. My father liked fishing and took me with a lot and with Wisconsin laws being what they are.(it's ok to take a your kid into a bar and give him a beer at any age) it meant stopping at the bar after fishing. I am not saying I drank a lot of beer as a kid. I didn't like the taste then. But I was not breaking any laws. I was with my Dad.
A great picture (including the female blond on the right!) with a nice vintage feeling; I like the evidence of wear and tear on it. I can't help but be sorry about what happened to him. So many people smoked in an age when it was considered "cool" and even glamorous, and of course it's very addictive, more so than heroine. Glad you could know your kind and honest father at least for the length of time that you did.
Your story struck a chord with me because my mother died of a stroke aged 54. She was also a heavy smoker. For me the saddest part is that she didn't get to see my children grow up - Ellen was two when she died and Edward was born two years later. I know she would have been very proud of them.
@dh@joemuli@tristansmum@nicholascronin@roseolivia@bkbinthecity@satinscape@pools82@jocasta@andrewkru@tosee@wildernesswillie thank you everyone for sharing your comments. I too love this photograph as the time capsule that it is. the more I look at it, the more I wonder what is going on. what are they looking at? why does that guy have no shirt on? what's with the sunglasses indoors-I thought that was just a 1980's thing. the story about my father is a tragic one but the one thing I want to emphasize is the importance of health. we need to take care of our bodies, especially if you are a member of a family that depends on you. only after posting this did it dawn on me that I knew my father longer brain damaged (18yrs) than not (14yrs). wtf.....
June 17th, 2014
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It could have come from an old copy of Time Life magazine.