This blog was formerly dedicated in 2009 to my Dad who died of Alzheimer's in 2013. It's been three years now...and I find myself missing blogging...so I am re-inventing my blog... because, after all, life is about moving through, and going forward...

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Happy memories of Dad and I...

My phone call today with Dad was very frustrating.  He rambled on and on about Doctor-Doctor (his favorite Aide) and how much he loves her. Sounded like he had watched TV and no doubt had seen the coverage of Haiti, and that influenced what he tried to tell me.  His conversation made no sense and he kept putting the phone too far from his mouth so I could not hear him.

The best part of the conversation was him telling me how good it was to hear my voice...

I am not going to allow our conversation to bring me down.  Instead, I found an Alzheimer's ribbon and a baby picture of Dad, Mom and I when I was a baby and put it on my blog. Instead, I will share some happy memories of Dad and I.

I was surfing the net today and saw a picture of an adult's bare feet and a child's bare feet on top of the adult's feet.  It made me remember when Dad used to take off his shoes and in his stocking feet, invite me, in my stocking feet, to stand on his feet and then he would dance with me around the room. He had different songs he would sing or hum to go with our dance. This activity erupted high pitch giggles from me as he held my hands and we danced around the living room...

He used to Poka dance with me too.  I can't remember the name of the song, but it was on one of Mom's records.  It was a real toe tapper and he would hold my hands and we would basically side step and skip all around the livingroom.  Dad would be huffing, puffing, laughing, and I would have the high pitched giggles and screams of delight.

As a family, we all watched Cheyene with Clint Walker as Cheyene Bodie.  At the beginning of every episode, it would say..."A wanderer roams the wild west"...and then he would lope in on his horse into the town.  I would imitate Cheyene riding in on his horse.  I could do it with comic perfection and it made my Dad roar with laughter!

Dad loved Westerns, especially anything with John Wayne. For years he had a life size cardboard cut out of him, that Dad kept in various corners of the house.  I think one of my brothers gave it to him...

I also used to sing the theme song to Paladin to entertain Dad. Richard Boone's portrayal was another of his favorites.    I would sing, imitating the singer's voice:

                           "Have gun will travel 
                                 reads the card of a man,
                               A knight without armor,
                    in a savage land.

His fast gun for hire

heads the calling wind,
A soldier of fortune
is the man called Paladin.


Paladin, Paladin,
Where do you roam?
Paladin, Paladin,
Far, far from home..."



These are the memories I will hold on to today...

10 comments:

Wander to the Wayside said...

Donna, these are awesome memories!

Mari said...

The picture is sweet and I love the memories! Your Dad was a wonderful Dad and he's still happy to hear your voice!

JeannetteLS said...

Back when the west was very young...
There lived a man named Masterson...

Oh, Donna. I have memories so like yours with my dad and me. ALl of us singing western theme songs. My dad used to take pleasure outdrawing Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, at the beginning. And sometimes he called my mom "Miss Kitty." We were Maverick fans.

Thanks for sharing your phone call, Donna. I know how hard these months have been and the love just keeps shining through your words... AND they evoke some powerful memories for many of us, I'll bet. take care... Nice "talking" with you today.

Donna said...

Hi Donna, just got caught up on your blog. I have been out of town too. Glad your trip to CA was good and it is always fun to be around family especially grand kids. Glad you are home safe. We went into Vegas during that heavy rain on Thursday and it was amazing to be in fog. We couldn't even see the race track. We too have snow in the mountains around us. It is beautiful, and the rain was badly needed. Love your blog.

Donna B. said...

Wander...thanks, I think so too.

Mari...I am going to try and replace all the negative visits with happier memories...thank you.

Jeannette....Those were the days, weren't they? Good talking with you too my friend.

Donna...Glad you made it home safely too. Wasn't that fog incredible? So unlike Vegas! Thank you for the compliments!

Anonymous said...

Such wonderful memories.....nothing will ever take away the happy memories of those childhood times with your dad! They become more and more precious as time goes by!!!

Wander to the Wayside said...

P.S. Please stop by my place for a sweet treat ...

Good to be a Queen said...

crDonna, stumbled across your blog today and I just wanted to say " Thank You"... This past year my Daddy was diagnosed with Alzheimer, some days are good and some days leave me in tears for the mountain of a man I still see...Like you and your Dad, I grew up watching westerns with him.. Today wanst a good day..But I will hold on. Thanks for sharing

Natasha said...

Donna, just reading about you and your Dad brought back so many memories of my father. Of all the diseases in the world, this is the one I hate the most, because it takes away the essence of you long before it takes you away.
BUT, memories never fade - they only grow more precious.
*hugs*

Natasha said...

It has been three and a half years since I lost my father, but after you left a comment on my blog, I have been thinking of my father almost constantly. I downloaded a purple ribbon for my blog too, and I am blogging about my memories today, if I am able to pull myself together long enough to be able to do so.
The only time I ever wrote about my father was here - http://coffeeringseverywhere.blogspot.com/2008/07/five-airlines-toffees.html