What Kinda Dad Did You Have Growing Up ?

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

Mine use to take me to grown up movies when I was like 6, seen Jaws, Godfather and etc. and don't tell mom lol. Got me into sports early and coach me in grade school. Tell me about your Dad's since Father's Day is coming soon and want to hear!

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

He was awesome and had me doing football slips when I was 10. Let me stay up as long as I wanted to on the weekends and watch TV with him. Miss him a lot! Seen his bad and good but he had a lot more good than bad in him.

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

Want to hear about yours?

[nobody 2,611]

Meh, typical selfish, mildly abusive parental units for both dad and step dad that I'm sure most people had.  

Happy Father's Day!

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

1 hour ago, nobody said:

Meh, typical selfish, mildly abusive parental units for both dad and step dad that I'm sure most people had.  

Happy Father's Day!

Sorry to hear that Buddy and mean that  I eventually got to see my dad's death face at the hospital and was horrible. We held hands the night before so that was cool. Happy Fathers Day to all here that still have one!!!

[BunnysBastatrds 2,334]

 My Cool Pops was incredible and taught me very much about everything life. He taught me to be me. I love him so very much and miss him so very much. He adopted me, along with my mother, and of course there were dark days, but most were very fun and always interesting. He was my best friend, best man at my wedding, worked side by side with him for over thirty years, gave him the grandchild , a daughter he dreamed about, and sadly had to make the decision to end his life after his gall bladder went septic as he requested a year prior. The man that wanted me when others couldn’t, he did and I love him so VERY deeply. He comes to see me in the form of a blue jay with a broken wing. Sounds crazy, but he does. Miss you much Cool Pops. I love you  

[easilyscan 896]

My dad was a great. He did shift work which sometimes included weekends, but still found the time to take me to a couple Twins games, to Brainerd for the drag races one year, bought me a Kawasaki 100 dirt bike, & when I was in little league, bought me a pitch back rebound net. He would also draw the line when we were acting up. Whenever he said "just keep on" you knew it was time to behave.

He passed on 10-10-10 & I still miss him.

 

[HellToupee 1,633]

My dad was a military guy who later worked a ton to give us a great life. We had everything growing up , nice house and a house down Cape Cod, private schooling etc. He wasn’t a drinker or someone to fly off the handle, only gripe was he made me quit music and a band I was in during high school because he spent a lot of money on my hockey. Never really appreciated him while he was alive

[avoiding injuries 1,532]

I had a military dad too. He was a great, loving dad and provided well for the family. He traveled a lot and missed a lot of my childhood. We also had to move every few years which I now believe affected me growing up since I was switching schools and having to make new friends. My mom had a lot of responsibility raising us. 

[Drizzay 707]

Military dad here, too.  Navy Corpsman assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 4th Marines in Vietnam.  Still alive, 78 years old.

His parents were both decorated military from WWII (yes, that includes my grandmother).  They lived in a small town of 1200 people in southeastern MN.  He enlisted in the Navy right after HS and was eventually sent to De Nang.

He never talks about his time there.  Met my mother a few months before being sent off to Basic.  They have been married since '71.

Came back, worked misc jobs while going to school on his GI Bill.  Then they pulled it, so he ended up changing oil and tires for little pay.  Was laid off on Christmas Eve 1970.

Found a job with Trane Co after harassing the recruiter (former military man himself) for 6 months, and ended up working there for 43 years.  But I never knew what he actually did.

He was always was at every sporting event for my sisters and I.  He would never miss an important moment in our lives.

He is a staunch Republican, but in the most conservative (non-religious)/libetarian way possible.  He is the son of an immigrant (his mom) and 2nd generation immigrant (his dad), so he has a little bit of a bleeding heart for the downtrodden/less well off.  He has no issues with gay people.  "Stay out of his life, and he will stay out of yours".  But don't you dare take more of his money for any of that stuff!

He eats the same things week after week.  Always meat and potatoes of some sort. He never drinks, except an old fashioned every now and again.  He golfs every morning.  He owns a $50k bass boat and fishes the Mississippi every afternoon.

He falls asleep at 8pm watching fox news or the history channel every night.

God, I love that man!

[Hardcore troubadour 15,077]

1 hour ago, Drizzay said:

Military dad here, too.  Navy Corpsman assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 4th Marines in Vietnam.  Still alive, 78 years old.

His parents were both decorated military from WWII (yes, that includes my grandmother).  They lived in a small town of 1200 people in southeastern MN.  He enlisted in the Navy right after HS and was eventually sent to De Nang.

He never talks about his time there.  Met my mother a few months before being sent off to Basic.  They have been married since '71.

Came back, worked misc jobs while going to school on his GI Bill.  Then they pulled it, so he ended up changing oil and tires for little pay.  Was laid off on Christmas Eve 1970.

Found a job with Trane Co after harassing the recruiter (former military man himself) for 6 months, and ended up working there for 43 years.  But I never knew what he actually did.

He was always was at every sporting event for my sisters and I.  He would never miss an important moment in our lives.

He is a staunch Republican, but in the most conservative (non-religious)/libetarian way possible.  He is the son of an immigrant (his mom) and 2nd generation immigrant (his dad), so he has a little bit of a bleeding heart for the downtrodden/less well off.  He has no issues with gay people.  "Stay out of his life, and he will stay out of yours".  But don't you dare take more of his money for any of that stuff!

He eats the same things week after week.  Always meat and potatoes of some sort. He never drinks, except an old fashioned every now and again.  He golfs every morning.  He owns a $50k bass boat and fishes the Mississippi every afternoon.

He falls asleep at 8pm watching fox news or the history channel every night.

God, I love that man!

He’s a Magnificent Bastard! 

[seafoam1 2,836]

1 hour ago, Drizzay said:

Military dad here, too.  Navy Corpsman assigned to the 2nd Batallion, 4th Marines in Vietnam.  Still alive, 78 years old.

His parents were both decorated military from WWII (yes, that includes my grandmother).  They lived in a small town of 1200 people in southeastern MN.  He enlisted in the Navy right after HS and was eventually sent to De Nang.

He never talks about his time there.  Met my mother a few months before being sent off to Basic.  They have been married since '71.

Came back, worked misc jobs while going to school on his GI Bill.  Then they pulled it, so he ended up changing oil and tires for little pay.  Was laid off on Christmas Eve 1970.

Found a job with Trane Co after harassing the recruiter (former military man himself) for 6 months, and ended up working there for 43 years.  But I never knew what he actually did.

He was always was at every sporting event for my sisters and I.  He would never miss an important moment in our lives.

He is a staunch Republican, but in the most conservative (non-religious)/libetarian way possible.  He is the son of an immigrant (his mom) and 2nd generation immigrant (his dad), so he has a little bit of a bleeding heart for the downtrodden/less well off.  He has no issues with gay people.  "Stay out of his life, and he will stay out of yours".  But don't you dare take more of his money for any of that stuff!

He eats the same things week after week.  Always meat and potatoes of some sort. He never drinks, except an old fashioned every now and again.  He golfs every morning.  He owns a $50k bass boat and fishes the Mississippi every afternoon.

He falls asleep at 8pm watching fox news or the history channel every night.

God, I love that man!

My dad was in WW2 in the navy. Died a few years ago at the age of 94. 

Weird thing about my dad, total meat and potatoes and chicken and such guy, but no way did he eat ever seafood or pasta. Pasta???  

Great dude God rest his soul. 

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

Thanks for all the stories about your Dad's and they are awesome!!

[Tebok 357]

My dad was a Swedish immigrant who came to our country in 1925. His dad came over years earlier and built houses all over Long Island and then brought over his wife and my dad. My dad grew up tough as nails, entered World War II, fought for his country, married a hard-headed ginger Texas gal and raised a family the old-fashioned way. He was my best friend until the day a stroke took him away. It wasn't perfect, and we had our conflict moments, but never physical. 

I took stock of the good and the bad from that and forged being a father as best I could, and my sons are the better for it.

 

 

[easilyscan 896]

1 hour ago, BeenHereBefore said:

Thanks for all the stories about your Dad's and they are awesome!!

Glad to share & great thread subject!

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

39 minutes ago, easilyscan said:

Glad to share & great thread subject!

Ahh thanks Buddy and you are a Good Man!

[Drizzay 707]

10 hours ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

He’s a Magnificent Bastard! 

  He keeps his plaque of the 2/4 in view for everyone to see.

[kilroy69 1,227]

I had 2 dads growing up and I am a better person for it. My parents split when I was 7 and they both remarried. For all the crap you hear about stepdads treating people like shitt mine was the glaring exception. He was beyond great. I tear up when I think about him. He died in 95 due to complications from MS that he got from being sprayed heavily with agent orange while in Vietnam, but I hear his voice every single day. He is the voice of my conscience. My internal Jiminy Cricket.   If I had one single wish it would be for him to see my son. To see how I grew up to become a dad just as good as he was. He was the best human I have ever come across in my life and I miss him more than words can really express. It has been nearly 30 years and I feel his impact daily. The things I do. The things I say. My belief system. All from him. My brothers and I won the lotto with him. When my mom was a shittshow he was the calm voice of reason that some bad kids really needed. Without his guidance I would be dead or in prison. I cannot overstate the impact he had on us. 

My real dad worked 12 hours a day and spent all his time with his new family and I just saw him during the summers. While I have since repaired my relationship with him he was not the man who raised me. 

[supermike80 1,850]

Good man.   Struggled early with alcoholism, got through it.  recovering until his death.   Never abusive....But a big dude.  6 4--which seemed like 7 4 as a kid.  Although he never hit me or anything, I feared him.  Like a son should with his father.   This whole buddy buddy thing is too much.   

[Mike Honcho 5,178]

The dead kind. 

[Bier Meister 1,669]

my father was the son of an electrician in NY.  very hard working, ambitious, intelligent (Harvard and Penn), innovative in his field (though is a creature of habit). He was a captain the Army when i was born. They moved to San Francisco when i was about 3. we loved playing sports together and going to games.  he was bigly into golf and skiing. i was the skier, my brother is the golfer. over the years, he would become pretty nasty when he drank (you could see him turn the corner and go from charismatic to belittling). this is getting better, but i think mom still absorbs much of it when they are home. he'll usually see things more clearly the next day.

he is a good man, but like everyone, has his faults.

[MDC 7,190]

My dad was the son of a farmer. He came here at 8 speaking no English at all, and made himself a National VP of a Fortune 500 company. Growing up, he worked all the time and was sort of a stoic guy, not much of a talker. One thing I’ve always admired about him was his humility. He never bragged about his success or looked down on anyone else and always remained humble. He’s older and I’m not great health now. It’s been sad to see his decline. 

[Maximum Overkill 1,814]

4 minutes ago, MDC said:

My dad was the son of a farmer. He came here at 8 speaking no English at all, and made himself a National VP of a Fortune 500 company. Growing up, he worked all the time and was sort of a stoic guy, not much of a talker. One thing I’ve always admired about him was his humility. He never bragged about his success or looked down on anyone else and always remained humble. He’s older and I’m not great health now. It’s been sad to see his decline. 

And he didn't help you get out of Fishtown? That's really sad, I'm sorry that he made you endure all that. 

 

[MLCKAA 552]

Mine was a deadbeat no-show.  Can count on two hands how many times I hung out with him.  Vagabond who continuously rotated through IN, WA, TX and FL.  Would sometimes move back to IN and not even tell my mom.  Would sometimes move out of IN and not bother to tell her that either.  Never seemed to give a damn about me, but dang did he love my mom.  Spent his entire life pining for her.  Would send her gifts and write her poems.  I’m sure if she’d wanted to be with him, he’d have been willing to be a Father.

Fck ya, d0uche.  I turned out great anyway.

[BudBro 174]

Mine was also in the "great" category.  Drafted into the Marine Corps for the Korean war.  Youngest of 9 children.  High School teacher and Principal, basketball coach (he coached football and track, too, but those aren't beautiful like basketball).  Provided us the Leave it to Beaver life in a small, rural town.  94 now and still mows his own yard.  Steps have gotten pretty short and spends lots of time reading mail and watching old Westerns.  Couldn't have asked for better. 

[jerryskids 6,607]

Interesting timing of this topic, as yesterday I saw Field of Dreams for the first time.  Weird movie, and touching of course.  I didn't have anything of a falling out like Costner's character, but to me, my dad was something of an "old man" while I knew him.  I didn't realize it at the time; it wasn't until after he died (I was 18) that I began to hear stories of how he was a partying lady's man back before he got married.  Basically, in hindsight it seemed that he decided that he was done with that part of his life, and that it was time to start the responsible husband and father part.  Which he did well.

On a scale of 1-10, he was an 11 in my world.  My world as a young kid mostly involved three other boys in my tightest friend group, and their dads were all variations of shiot.  So maybe it is relative a bit, but I can't compare otherwise, and I have no desire to complain.  Yeah, my brother and I got spanked (hand, belt), but it was after we acted up, never for no reason.  The song "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg reminds me of him the most.  

Quote

He earned his love through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls

Took me years to understand

They don't write lyrics like that any more.  Now get off my lawn.   

One quick story:  @Tebok will remember, as a fellow trumpet player, that I got a silver Bach Stradivarius trumpet for Christmas in HS.  This is like, I dunno, the Ferrari, or Rolex, of trumpets.  My dad was a foreman in a shoe factory, we didn't have Ferraris or Rolexes.  Anyway, I always presumed that it was my mom who pushed for them to get me it.  But I learned later that it was him.  

It's hanging on my wall as I type this.  I can't play it anymore because of my laryngectomy.  That saddens me for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the above story.  As I type this, it occurs to me that I should find some young aspiring trumpet player to gift it to.  I'm going to look into this.

Thanks for the thread, @BeenHereBefore.   

[BeenHereBefore 1,488]

3 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

Interesting timing of this topic, as yesterday I saw Field of Dreams for the first time.  Weird movie, and touching of course.  I didn't have anything of a falling out like Costner's character, but to me, my dad was something of an "old man" while I knew him.  I didn't realize it at the time; it wasn't until after he died (I was 18) that I began to hear stories of how he was a partying lady's man back before he got married.  Basically, in hindsight it seemed that he decided that he was done with that part of his life, and that it was time to start the responsible husband and father part.  Which he did well.

On a scale of 1-10, he was an 11 in my world.  My world as a young kid mostly involved three other boys in my tightest friend group, and their dads were all variations of shiot.  So maybe it is relative a bit, but I can't compare otherwise, and I have no desire to complain.  Yeah, my brother and I got spanked (hand, belt), but it was after we acted up, never for no reason.  The song "Leader of the Band" by Dan Fogelberg reminds me of him the most.  

They don't write lyrics like that any more.  Now get off my lawn.   

One quick story:  @Tebok will remember, as a fellow trumpet player, that I got a silver Bach Stradivarius trumpet for Christmas in HS.  This is like, I dunno, the Ferrari, or Rolex, of trumpets.  My dad was a foreman in a shoe factory, we didn't have Ferraris or Rolexes.  Anyway, I always presumed that it was my mom who pushed for them to get me it.  But I learned later that it was him.  

It's hanging on my wall as I type this.  I can't play it anymore because of my laryngectomy.  That saddens me for multiple reasons, not the least of which is the above story.  As I type this, it occurs to me that I should find some young aspiring trumpet player to gift it to.  I'm going to look into this.

Thanks for the thread, @BeenHereBefore.   

Welcome and thanks for the story and just watch Field of Dreams months back and can relate cause my dad was always playing baseball and softball most of his life.

[WhiteWonder 2,688]

Born in PA, grew up in NJ... spent a lot of time hunting and fishing in PA as a kid. Still enjoys both. Worked hard so my mom didn't have to, but she did anyway once we hit a certain age. Chose to raise us in the same town he and my mother grew up in. Expensive area but he's more of a simple guy. Prefers his Ford Explorer and his Saturday golf league to Range Rover and Country Club, which he could easily afford. It's not his style. Quiet, actions speak louder than words type. Never laid a hand on us as kids, raising his voice was enough. I think he took pride in that.

In his younger days he was always in trouble, skipping school, terrible grades, fights, etc. So it was shocking/not shocking that he was the parent to "ground" me when I got my first C, the one I had to hide the fact I got caught cheating on an AP chem exam... stuff like that. We had our differences because of what I felt was hypocrisy and what he likely knew was hypocrisy but certainly had the right as a Dad to want better from us. 

[Baker Boy 1,693]

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