Category: dad stories

Jan 05

The Marauder

My dad once told me the story of his uncle Delmar’s car: “Your uncle Delmar never had kids, so of course he had lots of money. Back in the 60s this racecar driver told Mercury that he wanted them to make him a car, and Mercury figured that if they had to make one, the …

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Nov 09

Mmmm….smells

A while back the family and I were on our way back from Sunday lunch, taking the long way back, and talking about our favorite smells. It wasn’t as boring or short a conversation that you are probably thinking. Some of the mutual faves: pipe tobacco, rain, old books, decaying leaves, freshly tilled earth, clean …

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Oct 17

Alms for the poor

Back in the 60s my grampa, my dad, and my uncle used to drive to Kansas City to stay in an apartment and work all week, then drive back home to southern Missouri on the weekends. Dad said when they got back to the apartment, my uncle would get out an old can and say, …

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Oct 07

My first float trip

When I was seven and my brother was four we went with my Dad and his friend Roy on a float trip. I don’t remember the river, but I do remember a lot of things about the trip. One thing was at one point in the river, over to the side, there was this circle …

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Aug 17

Dad’s Volkswagen

As long as I could remember my Dad always drove American cars, so it was a great surprise when my uncle mentioned that my Dad and his twin brother had once owned a Volkswagen Beetle–for a short time. “They were coming around a  long curve on our gravel road. Our neighbor and his wife were …

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Aug 15

Life at the potato chip plant

My Dad told us he once worked at a potato chip plant. My brothers and I were fascinated at the prospect of working at such a magical place. “Did they let you eat any of the chips?” we asked. “They let us eat all we wanted,” he replied. We were completely in awe. “They knew that …

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Jun 05

Three crosses

My dad had a funny sense of humor. One time we were passing a church with three crosses on it, and he made this observation: “You know, that one thief went straight to Hell, but he still gets his cross on the church.”

Apr 09

Dad stories: grandpa shot a man in the back

It’s not as nefarious as it sounds. It was the middle of the depression and my grandpa Roy had a small farm. In the middle of the night he heard some racket, and saw someone riding off on a horse. The stranger had one of my grandpa’s pigs under his arm. So grandpa grabbed his …

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