What you bring me today daddy

[HawkRod]

Great story Steve. Those toys couldn't have been any better if they were bought in a store, because regardless, they were delivered with a dad's love.

 

[Budnicks]

My father Harvey is still alive & lives with me today...
I struggle with it sometimes...

When I was young he was basically just a sperm donor...
He left my mom, well she kicked him out for cheating on her,
she was left with my 2 older sisters 4 & 3 years old
& me 18 months old...
He was reluctantly forced to give her child support
$105 a month $35 ea. until I was 6 & she remarried...
She never ever even had a bad word to say about him ever...
I got all of that on my own accord...

I rarely saw him, unless it was a visitation weekend, or after practice or phone call
we were just dropped off at my aunts Joan's house usually,
she had 3 boys very close to our ages, after he was done
drinking & chasing skirts, what ever, he'd come back & pick us up
& drop us back off at home...
Till the next months scheduled visits...

I'm not bitter, just explaining what I dealt with,
you can understand better...

edited added;
He {Harvey} also went to every baseball, football & track meet all
during middle school & HS, never missed even 1...
He never failed to pick up me & a few on my fellow HS towns boys/teammates,
to take us all home, every school day after what ever practices we had,
some of my buddies lived some 20+ miles from our ranch too, he was always there...
I found out he attended every college football home game & track meet,
whether I was gonna' start or not he made a point to be there, even if I didn't know
that he was even there...
He drove from Yreka Ca. to Eugene Or. while I was attending UO up there...
I only found out that, after I was in my late 30's, that he even did that...
I played football for 18 years, from 7 - 25 he never missed a game
mostly just home games in the latter years...
I played quite a few professional golf tournaments, thru the 1990's - 2007
mini tour stuff, mostly just west coast stuff, he wasn't a wealthy man,
he was a union school bus driver & maintenance guy in latter working years,
he had sold his construction company & moved to appease his 3rd wife....
But I didn't even know he was there most of the time...

It wasn't until I was 6 or so what I really understood
"what having a dad was all about", my Mom {RIP} died youngish
age 69 from MS complications, I do really miss her daily...
But my step dad Bob raised me from about ages 6-14...
He wasn't a very patient man, not really affectionate, he was a real car guy thou,
he was in a tough situation too, but Bob taught me a ton of what I know about cars,
he married into an instant family, he was like 29 IIRC...
I didn't know any different back then either...
I was just happy to have a dad, like all the rest of my friends had...
I moved into with my real father again when I was 15-ish,
HS age, me & my step dad didn't get along well...
My Father Harvey he had remarried for the 3rd time,
to a woman Patty that had 2 boys & 2 girls, all younger than me,
that my father adopted...
He was a different dad all together with them...

He really wasn't the giving type at all, but we are close...
He didn't bring stuff home for any of us...
It wasn't him, he was kind of different that way...
I was almost a polar opposite of him, as a father with my kids...
I wouldn't know what that's like, to be like him...
But,
He is a very generous man now, he's mellowed considerably today
no longer drinks like a fish, has heart issues & asthma issues,
sees his mortality I think...
But even with all that, he tries to be a good grandfather too,
sometimes he really struggles, reverts back to his old self &
selfish ways...
It is, what it is, he's my father & I love him...
Flaws & all...
I am the father figure now, roles have reversed,
I'm the reasonable one & seems he's the rebellious teenager now...LOL
I spend almost everyday with him now too...
I do cherish it, even if I complain about it some...
I see his age & him withering away more & more, every day
no matter how I felt as a young kid, it hurts me to see him like he is today...
I'm dreading the day, he's gone too...

I don't see much of Bob my step dad now,
since my Mom died, she was the salt of the earth
& gave me the beliefs & morals/std.'s I have, live by today,
but Bob he kind of trekked out all on his own...
Isn't really a family guy now as much, seems his &
my real Father Harvey's roles are reversed somewhat now...

Life's strange, sometimes you just gotta' role with the punches,
play with the cards you were dealt...
I made the best of it, I have a great family & great bros.'s
& sisters even my step family are still close...

Thanks for listening to my LONG story...
{you guys/galls wouldn't expect anything different, would you ?}
see ya', enjoy them while they are still here
or remember the good about them, life short & goes by fast...