In the summer we'd pack up our car at about 4 a.m. and head off for some new place to visit. Places like Serpent Indian Mound, My Old Kentucky Home, the Smokey Mountains, the Wisconsin Dells and Niagara Falls. He wanted to make sure we got the opportunity to see as much as we could of this wonderful USA.
Sunday afternoons were often times for going to Grandma and Grandpa's going for a ride, and visiting the farm market to get a big tin of cherries or maybe a peck or two of apples or peaches.
Our house went through a lot f remoideling over the years. It turned out to be one of the nicest ones around. I always appreciated the big yard we had to play in, the swing that hung from that big ol' apple tree, and comping out in the tent in the back yard every summer.
While Mom was teaching me how to bake, Dad was enjoying the things we baked. He'd always say there wasn't much sense in making a single batch of cookies so we'd double the recipe most of the time.
One summer my 4-H project involved designing a work area in my bedroom. While I was away at camp, Dad made the plan into reality by installing builtin-in drawers, counter top and bookshelves. He and I got an "A" on the project.
Dad has a good sense of humor. After I left home for college he typed funny letters. One of them read, "This will be a letter of reading between the lines cause we don't have any paper without lines." That was back in the days of manual typewriters.
I don't know how I first got interested in photography, but maybe it was because Dad often carried around a camera with him and would document all our vacation travels. As soon as I was old enough I was shooting pictures too. Later on in life I became a professional photographer. He also has kept a lot of the stories I wrote in school and now I'm a professional writer.
I still like to stir up goodies in the kitchen. Better go get a cake in the oven.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Love, Deb
