Morgan Mischief: November 10 - I Am Thankful for My Dad

There are a lot of neat things I could write about my dad---all the things he accomplished in his life. I could write about his business ventures, his community involvement, his church service, his political offices, his appointments by govenors and presidents, but I won't. Others have done that.

I want this blog to be one of a personal nature. I want my posterity to learn of the dad I grew up with at home, not the one out in the limelight. I want them to know of the dad that I know and love the best.

Things I loved about my dad:

How he acted/was happy, no matter how bad things were going at work or in politics, no matter how badly he had been hurt by others, no matter that he lost his eyesight - For most of his life, he had a really happy, positive attitude (until he was really sick at the very end, and sometimes even then). He would wake up in the morning and whistle. It didn't matter that he had had little sleep or that his plate was always full, extremely full of appointments, the needs of others, agendas, worries, or business meetings, he still whistled. He would oft times comment with a lot of gusto, "Well, aren't we the lucky bozos! He always appreciated the good in life and it showed.
His sense of humor - Whether it was cracking a joke, givng someone a funny nickname, pulling a silly prank, or seeing "little green men" on the highway as we drove, he was the epitome of all things humorous.
His spontaneity - I don't know how many times he would call from the office and say, "I'm going to have some time late this afternoon, get the boat ready," or he would call from the legislative chambers at the capitol and say, "I'm going to get out of here a little early on Friday, get everything ready, and we'll head to the cabin to snowmobile." Sometimes in the summer it would be hot in the valley, and we would pack up and head for the mountain with the camper---just to sleep and have breakfast, then it was "back down the hill" to go to work. He made everything fun. A trip in the car with lots of little children would bother some, but he was full of songs, stories, jokes, quizzes on multiplication facts and other math equations. We loved our road trips.
His support of his family, friends, his community, or the state he loved - I remember sleeping in the back of the station wagon in Price, Utah so we could support a local Little League or Pony League baseball team in a tournament. I remember, oh so many, return trips back toVernal driven in the wee hours of the morning from Utah Valley, Craig, Salt Lake and Ogden, Rifle, Meeker, Tabiona, Price, Steamboat Springs, or St. George because he (and sometimes we) would have gone to watch a wrestling match, attend a wedding reception, a funeral, a baseball tournament, a mission reunion, or a basketball game. For years the only vacation that Mom and Dad took was going to watch Uintah's basketball team in the state tournament. He was everybody's biggest fan. Later in life, he burned up more tires on the road between Salt Lake and Vernal just so he could watch the U of U play a game and be back for stake presidency meetings on Sunday morning. When one of my roommates wanted Mom and Dad to sing at her wedding reception in Idaho, they were there---even though it was a 5+ hour trip one way.
His generosity - He was generous to a fault. He gave to others when he didn't have it to give. He would give his employees days off with pay to go to the temple. He would fill the gas tanks of the missionaries. He would give temporary work to someone without a steady job. He donated to every fund raiser and charitable cause that went on in Vernal for years.
His trust - He trusted others WAY too much. He thought everyone lived by the Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you". That's how he did business, so when someone made a promise, he thought they meant it. He trusted employees and co-workers when perhaps he shouldn't have, but he seemed to have the ability to go forward despite his disappointment and hurt. As his child, his trust was a very positive thing. He would entrust you with responsibilities and then let you go for it---pretty much by yourself. He had me doing bookkeeping for him when I was in 7th grade and praised and praised me when I did a good job. He wasn't hanging over my shoulder every minute that I worked, but he showed me how to balance things and how to find a mistake if things didn't balance. He gave me responsibilities with the yard, with my siblings, with his campaigns. Some would say that he was just getting rid of work, but he taught me how to work, and made me feel good about what I did. Because of his trust, my self-confidence was bolstered.
His voice - He could sing like no other. It was wonderful to hear him sing with Mom and with my brothers. Somedays I am given a tender mercy when I'm listening to a group of men sing, and I can hear Dad. I can hear that beautiful, perfect high tenor voice, so full and rich. Perhaps it is someone else's voice that is very much like his, but sometimes I wonder....
How he built up others - At home, Dad could be very demanding. I think it was just because he wanted us to do our best; but I loved to watch how he would seek out the good in everyone and make sure he told them about it or how he would tell others about it in front of them. He was always really good to introduce me to grown-ups wherever we went. Then he would always have something nice to tell me about that person. Perhaps it was about a talent they had, or about the wonderful family that they were raising, or about their farm, or the amazing job they did in last week's game, or... It didn't matter; he was always telling people their good points in front of others.
How he taught us to strive for excellence - He always repeated the old adage that anything worth doing was worth doing well. He expected the best from us and taught us to expect it from ourselves. He would have us practice our seminary declamation talks for hours until we got our delivery just right.

Fun things I loved doing with Dad:

Going anywhere in the gasoline delivery truck. We would sing, he'd tell stories, sometimes he would let us drive, and we would always get a treat----a bottle of soda pop (Nesbitt's Orange or Hire's Root Beer), a candy bar(they cost 5-10 cents), or sometimes if we were really lucky, a soft-serve ice cream cone at the Dutch John Drive-in or lunch at Turner's in Manila.
Picking wild berries and looking for pine nuts
Skipping rocks across Green River at Split Mountain
Fishing (until he made me clean the fish)
Practicing our casting on the front lawn
Playing monopoly even though he always won
Playing like we were a UFO on top of Steinaker Hill in the Jeep in the dark (flashing and blinking every light we could)---This was after some scare in Vernal when they thought they had sited UFO's!
Star gazing
Playing Rook---Even though I think he and Mom had secret codes when they partnered; they always came up with a very high number of trump cards between the two of them.
Sleigh riding down the roads in Dry Fork Canyon
Going on "rides" around the valley except the times he threw our dog, Ginger, in the feeder canal for Steinaker Reservoir ("the drops"). We were sure Ginger was going to drown every time.
Going shopping for new clothes, especially after I was married (he paid for them)
Being his dinner partner at legislative functions when Mom couldn't make it from Vernal
Spending time with him at the capitol

Going to the U of U basketball games
Listening to him speak---at legislative functions, at funerals, at stake conference. It was always a treat.
Feeding the ducks with the grandchildren at the pond near his office at WPMA

Going to dinner at the Pagoda, Sophie Garcia's, and The Print Shop back in the 70's and 80's He was always so good to treat us to dinner when we were in college and when we lived in Bountiful and needed a night away from the kids.

Here are some of my favorite photos while growing up: