My Dad was a tradesman

[canetoad]

A fitter and turner. He did his apprenticeship in the Clyde Craneworks in Scotland, building the cranes that built the ships. When his apprenticeship was over, he served in the Royal Engineers in the occupation force in Germany in the early 50s.

He instilled in me a love for Ella Fitzgerald, The Goons, Sammy Davis Jr and Duke Ellington.

When, in my late teens, early twenties I flirted with anarchism and capitalism, he told me without hesitation, "No working person should EVER vote conservative because it is against your own interests".

Thanks Dad.

[calimary]

1. And don't ever forget those wise words of his.

[Hekate]

2. Oh hey it's you again tonight! Whatever this is in regard to...

Cheers, big ears!

[canetoad]

3. LOL

You'd fit right in here!

CHEERS, big ears.

[pecosbob]

4. My dad was an Okie and served as a radioman on a destroyer in the Navy during Korea

He grew up in the Depression as an only child of a single mom in a very Baptist region. He worked in West Texas as a cowboy for five dollars a month as a teen in the late forties. On his way home from the war he married the sister of his navy buddy from Waco. After two years of college he went to work as an engineer for RCA on the West Coast where both he and my Uncle worked on early defense programs for RCA and TRW (ICBM stuff). We later moved to Houston where he worked on the Pioneer satellite projects at NASA. I actually got to wander around NASA as a kid. He once brought home a Great Dane he won in a poker game. On the odd occasion he would blast Pete Fountain and Al Hirt on the stereo when he drank Scotch but his favorite song had to be 'Stormy Weather'. I will always remember him singing it to himself.

Never told me who he voted for...not once. He told me it was private, but that folks should vote for people that want to build things up and not tear them down. He passed in 2001...don't know what he would think of today's world, but he would definitely view Twitter as a waste of time. He was a hard-core science nerd back when slide-rules sent people to the moon. I've still got his 1955 Tony Lamas and his Stetson.



Some great things my dad told me...

'Do it right the first time'

'Go look again'

'You climbed up that tree...you can climb back down'

'One hand for yourself, one hand for the boat'

'Measure twice, cut once'

'Do not hit bullets with a hammer'

'Quit watching so much TV...it'll make you stupid'

'Take care of your little brother'

Thanks Dad