Dads

We spoke very openly until I became a punk... then there were some rough years. I think he wanted a Doc Watson, not Darby Crash. It worked out eventually.

He's a great guy, my father, but we're from two different worlds, so unless we're talking about football, we've got nothing in common.

What about calling them by the first name? Or turning your mom onto The Violent Femmes? Now THAT'S unacceptable to me, but sort of common in the hills of Northern California.

I haven't talked to my father in almost two years, and that time was only because I was in the hospital. We don't have any issues or anything, we're just not tight.

True, but then I don't think my dad really qualifies as an "old person" yet.

also he lives in spain which is very handy for holidays.

(x-post he is 72. i am 31. this makes no difference)

Geez, I can only wish my dad were my friend. At least it would kill most of the awkwardness. A friend can be there to offer advice, and not necessarily be a hangout buddy.

BAVARIAN KREME 0\/\/NZ U.

Different topics, but the same terrain as every conversation I've seen him have with my grandfather.

When my dad was still alive, he and I had this most amazing connection. I mean, I felt really close to my father, like I could confide in him and talk to him about practically anything. He was the only father I knew who, when I was a teenager, I could come up to him and ask him questions about the opposite sex and he wouldn't hem and haw -- he'd actually help me try to see things from the male teenager's viewpoint. If I had any sensitive questions, it was my father whom I could turn to for answers. My mother was a pretty good person to ask questions to, sure, but when it came to a lot of the questions I had as a teenager, her view that whatever I was curious about was "silly" or "nonsense" really stymied me from getting past an issue. My father was more open-minded and tolerant and never said I was being "silly" or "speaking nonsense" if I had a question about something.

I loved my father. He could be VERY strict -- one did not mess with him lest you end up on the receiving end of his wrath -- but he was truly the most nurturing and open parent I had and I miss him and think about him every single day.

i get most annoyed with him when i see shit i don't like abt him popping up in my own habits.

What birthday gift to buy a dad with NO hobbies or interests???

My dad is awesome. We played pool head-to-head for 6 hours straight, drank beers & listened to some great music last Saturday night. When I was growing up he was fairly strict and it was always "wait until your father gets home". Even now at 33 I sometimes still expect to get told off for things I do. The other week while I was staying at their place I put my feet up on the door of the wood furnace and my synthetic socks melted onto the glass, leaving two big blobby marks. I was a bit scared to tell him I did it, so my mum dobbed me in but he just laughed. I guess there is still that sense of not wanting to disappoint him. I still don't swear in front of him. I love him loads and I dread the day he won't be around anymore.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1186/794101205_9b2f1a7ad9.jpg

My dad & I quit being close, even remotely, when I turned 13 and starting not being a sweet widdle tiny girl anymore, even though my personality was relatively the same for 1-2 years after that. It was one mad mindfuck.

He's getting old now. It's surprising! A lot more physical injuries...he just doesn't bounce back like he used to. And macular degeneration. And he's starting to lose his memory, or at least its sharpness. It's strange.

Three years ago, I bought him a book of large print crossword puzzles as a Christmas gift. The underlying message was ,"Haha, you're old and can't see." (This before any of the aforementioned symptoms showed up, I should note.) BUT he was really happy with it. "I solved three of them!" he told me the day after Christmas. I also gave him a barbecue knife from the dollar store that he was understandably not impressed with. We were getting along REALLY POORLY & bitterly that year. My attempt at biting, passive-aggressive gifts failed, probably because I've always given him stuff like that.

What birthday gift to buy a dad with NO hobbies or interests???

I've had this problem, several Christmases in a row. My answer was to pay his satellite subscription for him for a couple of months. It was surprisingly well recceived.

Does he drink port? Buy him a port barrell.
Or name a star after him.

Does anyone actually talk openly and normally with their dad?

Define normal. I mean, I used to think making lewd comments and dirty jokes with your dad was completely normal until I started doing this with (male) friends (sometimes in his presence) and discovered this was nt the case. Or maybe I had the wrong friends? But in a way I discovered that, no, most kids don't do this with their dads. Not here anyway. That said, I have a GREBT dad. I don't talk a lot or very openly with him, but he's definitely always ready to listen (unless he's making the "banana stuck in my ear" joke). He's the bestest dad you can have, especially if you're a kid. He loves, nay ADORES, kids (and dogs) and would never never ever hurt them. (He knows from experience that abusing kids is a def no no.) I only wish he had more kids, he wanted more but it was not to be. :-((

My parents had a deal about the bodily fluid aspects of parenting: my mom thinks nothing of the diapers and the throw-up ("It's just a baby, this is what babies do!") and my dad handled all the blood & trauma episodes. He could keep calm and administer the first aid, drive us to the ER, decide what to do immediately, and never let on how fearsome the situation was. He was always the one to wash off our wounds and determine whether stitches would be needed, or just a band-aid -- my mother couldn't look and would hover to the side, talking to us to show that she was there and we were loved, but it was my dad's hands that sluiced off the blood and held us still.

He'll think of a way to fix just about anything using only the materials already on the property or somehow sourceable from neighbors (although he'll admit, sometimes his jury-rigging or over-confidence with experimentation created the problem in the first place), and he doesn't appear to have any problem with a full day of hard labor & constant application to some job or other. He gave all of us the idea that you should be engaged & busy with something up until the moment your eyes close, basically, although these days he tires out around 8pm and falls asleep in the middle of every movie he watches.

He was the first person in a family of blue-collar craftsmen to go to college (maybe even to finish high school), and being a slightly aspie engineer is probably the most significant aspect of his personality. A rigid code of personal honor and the reluctance to admit to an emotional inner life wrap it up, although in his old age (joke) he's getting downright bookish, which I encourage whenever possible.

I very much want his company to turn into the brilliant success that his intellect & labor deserve because right now there's no sign that he can afford to retire, and that big job that will secure their future is always on the horizon....

Laurel, my dad was also the first in his family to finish high school and also to finish college. He had nine siblings, most of them younger, and was exceptionally good with kids. He taught my mom how to change a diaper!

anyone else's dad get the daily mail every day to get whatever free cd or dvd they're giving away that day, even though they're never going to listen to it or watch it?

My dad had his hip replaced a couple of weeks ago. He was terrified before the op - he doesn't 'do' being ill or doctors or hospitals - but it went really well, and I'm proud of how he's doing his post-op exercises and stuff. He's a very quiet man and we don't have all that much in common in many ways, but I love him.

Around 2003-2004, my dad was called on to give evidence at a public enquiry into a large scale construction project that had gone massively overbudget. The body responsible for comissioning the project had given him a completely unjustified roasting (to cover their own backs) and the press were printing outright lies about him and his firm on their frony pages. An extremely stressful time for him. And when I met him one morning, not longer after starting my first proper job, on the train to Edinburgh, him on his way to give evidence, me on my way to the photocopier, he took me for breakfast and we chatted. He never let on the pressure he was under - I only figured it out much later. My dad: a total pro. Me: now less self absorbed.

fuck my dad and his archaic, homophobic views.

sorry, had to get that off my chest.

He doesn't buy the Mail for the DVD at all, you're saying?

lols, gets it primarily for the dvds, but i'm sure he has a quick scan of the headlines an' all.

the aul fella has been emailing me a couple times a week form his latest gig, i tihnk he's trying to make me jealous. tonight: acapulco.

txt from dad:

Tomorrow is our 36th
wedding anniversary
I bought ___ a bar of
chocolate but did not
notice it said spiced chili

aw

more:

Also I bought a chocolate
mousse cake which turned
out to be all mousse so
when I removed the plastic
around its sides it looked
like a sad cake

However I did buy her a
Coltrane CD and I hope
she likes it

Is your dad william carlos williams

forgive me
I did not notice
it was spiced chili

Dad: Is it possible to file class action on behalf of a voter who believes his elected executive branch is being steam rolled by the congress with regards to conducting foreign policy?

Me: No

Dad: Thank you

My Dad got me a book about Fidel and Che for Christmas.

I always feel slightly worried about people who describe their dad as a "friend". Just seems slightly creepy to me.
He's a great guy, my father, but we're from two different worlds, so unless we're talking about football, we've got nothing in common.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Friday, February 27, 2004 5:06 PM (10 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I am a dad and my two-year-old son recently told me I was his best friend. It might be my favorite thing anyone's ever said to me!

dads!

a few years ago after my my dad's mum died, i was in the back of my his car with my three siblings, very squashed, and my mum and dad in the front. we all had a few drinks after the funeral and it was a long and emotional day, tinged with a bit of strange family stuff, but as we drove back to my granny's house, where we were staying, the stories about granny and dad's childhood continued. he was telling us how they used to keep a couple of greyhounds, which we knew, but he had never gone into detail about how much he loved these greyhounds. he began to talk with real animation and passion about getting up early before school to walk them, washing them, feeding them, and how loyal they were, about how he and my grandad used to take them to the races and always be hoping for a winner. then he described how eventually they had this one hound that was brilliant, it won every race, and they loved it. he said they had real personality, the dogs, and this one was an individual. it won some big race in dublin and a trainer made a huge financial offer for it, and they sold it and were able to buy a television and a washing machine for my granny with the money they got. he went on to say how they never had any dogs again after that because himself and my grandad missed this one hound of genius. he was kind of repeating himself with joy about what smart animals they were and i think myself, my sister and my two brothers were asking him questions to keep him going, so glad were we to see this outpouring of love and nostalgia from a normally reticent man. "why was that dog better?" "did they need much training?" "what age were you when you walked the greyhound?" "was it difficult to keep it under control" "how did you train them?" - all these questions were met with various answers, some factual, some long-winded, some still lost in the same nostalgic wonder.

then i wondered "why did you never get a dog when we were growing up dad?"

deadly serious: "A DOG? SHIR A DOG IS WORSE THAN A CHILD! YOU COULDN'T EVEN GO ON HOLIDAYS WITH A DOG!"

He's got a point.

i grew up in a house with dogs.
my parents gave more TLC to the dogs than they did us kids.
to the point that everytime my sis/me asked if we could go somewhere as a family the response was always : 'nope, cos of the XYZ re the dogs'.
so, i agree totally with your dads response.

Great great story

Having lunch with old dad next week

My dad actually wants a book about motorway services for Christmas
#dads

hopefully tebay gets plenty of space devoted to it

Centra dad

My dad actually wants a book about motorway services for Christmas
#dads

..and your problem is ??

after years of usual Dad crap xmas presents i decided to set up an amazon wish list.
i added loads of stuff i wanted (mastodon/lcd/dj hell/soulwax/heliocentrics/judge dredd/tank girl), and sent the link to various family members.
the response : "i am not buying you any of that crap".
basically, us dads cannot win.

tonight is my first respite in 15 years, where I'm actually pissed and it isn't irresponsible behaviour. Got 2 of these nights a month now (　＾∇＾)

He's always been a little Partridge-esque at times but this is peak dad.

He did get mildly interested in golf about 10 years ago but that was just a fad. A dad fad.

Hi 5 calz go nuts

I would like to buy him something fun/cultural! but he always asks for a Halfords voucher or some slippers.

A dad fad.

buy him a metal detector and seasons 1-3 of the detectorists.

When I was about 8 he bought me a kids' metal detector! He then borrowed it to find where the pipes were in the walls before knocking through various walls.

My dad was a horrible man having only improved slightly

When I was about 8 he bought me a kids' metal detector! He then borrowed it to find where the pipes were in the walls before knocking through various walls.

sounds like its about time he needs a new detector.

My dad no longer lives with the partner references upthread tho he's still in touch with her kids. She married a woman since so I'm told.

He's now in Seattle and lives with a very nice woman there the past few years. They share caring duties for her teenage son who is profoundly disabled but she seems to be pretty wealthy and they have enough help to travel a bit and live well, he doesn't seem to need to fish any longer, which at 63 is a relief.

If your dad is 63, then I am literally old enough to be your father. This is moderately surprising, but not disturbing.

Didn't think my age had been a secret at any stage but I can understand where my decrepit WDYLL performance may have thrown you somewhat

Your crust is beyond your years.

dads

Sounds like he has earned it dmac

He's there anyways I dunno. He took extended breaks from parenting between 1980 and say 2005 in order to stay fresh is one way I'd look at it maybe.

<3

Thks

Anyway:

dads

― Roberto Spiralli, Friday, 8 December 2017 00:00 (forty minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Otm

My dad actually wants a book about motorway services for Christmas
#dads

― kinder, Thursday, December 7, 2017 5:06 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Did he happen to mention the title of the book?

Mine has bladder cancer and has to put a catheter in on a regular basis
Something to look forward to

Sorry to hear that

My dad has a "Keith Richards for president" shirt. He's got dadditude.

can u get me one of those shirts plz & thank u