Happy Birthday Dad

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, here's a few thousand words about my Dad. Today would have been his birthday.

This is my Dad's parents, my grandparents. I was never that close to them. As a small child we lived in New Jersey where they lived, but after we moved down south we didn't see them that much and my Dad and his Father weren't that close. My Grandfather wasn't the nicest man in the world, but my memories of him are sitting in his lap while he read the funnies to my brother and me.

This is the earliest picture of my Dad that I have. I really have no idea how old he is here, but he's pretty young. Ready to take on the world.

This is probably from when we lived in New Jersey. That's me and the little tyke is my brother with my Dad.
I'm not sure where we were for this picture. I'm assuming Memphis from the age of me and my brother. That's us with my Mom and Dad. Notice how my Dad had pretty much the same hair style throughout these pictures.

A Christmas picture with my Dad and me and my brother. My Dad was not a suit wearer. I can't remember the times I've seen my Dad in a suit outside a wedding or something similar. The little Christmas figure hanging to the right of my Dad, we had that for years, I remember hanging it up till I was past my teens. It was just a plastic leaf figure with a round head, I didn't even remember it till I was looking at this picture.

I'm pretty sure this was from when we were in Florida. I want to say St. Augustine, but not completely sure. That's my brother, me and my Dad holding my sister.

My Dad at work. He was an aviation ordinance man, which meant he was responsible for arming the plane.

My Dad as a sailor. He spent over twenty years in the Navy and served proudly.

This is my Dad and Mom from his retirement. I remember this because I actually got to go. He retired not long after I graduated, so I didn't have school when it happened. It was actually quite a moving event.

This was at my Grandmother's house in Tennessee. My Mom lives close enough to this house now that she can see it from her porch. That's my Grandmother in the rocker, my Mom, my Dad and my sister. I remember this house with so much great memories, it's a shame no one in the family kept it up. Now it's falling apart.

This was right after my parents moved to Mississippi. They had just built the porch at the back of their home. That's me in the cool shades, with my Dad, brother and sister.

Again from Mississippi with my Dad, me, sister and Mom. This is one of my favorite pictures.

Again from Mississippi. My brother, Dad, his sister - my Aunt Bop, my sister and me.

One more from Mississippi. My brother with my niece in his lap, me behind them, my nephew on the ground, my Dad and my Mom with her cool hat behind him and their dog.