He was very quiet and laid back unless you made him mad or crossed his path. I don’t remember ever getting a spanking from my Daddy, I do remember asking for him to just spank me. The spankings wouldn’t of hurt near as long as those lectures did. One of my fondest memories is when we lived at the farm; he would get up before daylight to go to work. And mom always made him breakfast and I would get up and eat with him. He would drink his coffee and I would drink my iced tea and we would enjoy our breakfast. After I was older, teen years, when he would get home from work we would sit at the picnic table while mom would fix supper. He would always ask me how my day was, if anything exciting happened.
He loved his family more than life, he may not of said it, but he showed it. He worked hard his whole life right up until he couldn’t work anymore. Then he took over the household chores while mom continued to work.
After mom retired, they moved back to Arkansas, and they were inseparable, when you seen one of them the other was close by. They enjoyed several years just running the roads, enjoying the outdoors with Aunt Maxine and Uncle Doyle. They loved to go eat pizza at Ken’s Pizza in Russellville with Dad’s niece and Mom’s nephew, Bonnie & Franklin. They watched Janice for me while I worked and I remember one particular day. When I walked in there was my Dad in his rocking chair with Janice in his lap. He was reading to her, something I never remembered him doing. Then as we got ready to leave she reached up and hugged him and kissed him on the cheek and told him she loved him, his reply was “I love you too!” So many wonderful memories.
Then Dad got sicker and eventually had to go to the nursing home. He had Senile Dementia and did not know what he was doing, leaving bruises on Mom’s arms at times. It is an awful disease, a painful disease. Mom was at the nursing home everyday as long as she was able…that is love! I remember stopping by after work or on Saturday morning and Mom would ask him, ‘Olan, do you know who that is?’ And you could see the confusion on his face, I would always pipe up and say, ‘Of course he does, I am his favorite daughter.’ And usually after a few moments he would chuckle and say, ‘only because you are the only one I have.’ Even during the hardest of times there are still good memories.
Hug your Dad a little tighter tonight for me…cause I sure am missing mine!
until next time...nel
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| Mom & Dad probably right around 1939 |
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| James, Dad, Nel |
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| Tom, Nel, Mom & Dad at farmhouse |
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| Dad |
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| Nel, Dad, Mom - Kathy's Apt. |
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| Mom & Dad at Nursing Home |
until next time...nel
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