Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and don’t forget to smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America and Protect Our Military! ~~~ Have a safe and happy St. Patrick’s Day – Slainte! ~~~
Over the years, I’ve received many kind compliments, like “Hey kid! Nice job mowing the lawn and trimming the hedges,” or “Great job shoveling the walk.” However, two of the most meaningful compliments came around the time of my engagement and shortly after my wedding.
One night, just before we got married, my father said to me, “Dan, that Nancy K is a special girl. Be sure to treat her right, as she’s truly something special.” This advice often resonates with me, especially during conversations about relationships.
Tragically, my father passed away about nine months later, just four days before our eldest child was born. I previously mentioned that my wife’s water broke as we were leaving his wake, and our daughter arrived at around 3:30 a.m. the day he was laid to rest.
Now, married for 50 years with eight grandchildren, my father’s words have stayed with me all this time.
The other incident, somewhat related, is that my mother would put together a tribute video cassette using old movies and slides, with the help of my disc-jockey cousin, Tim McFarland. It was simply called “Thanks for the Memories,” which would play as background music. It’s now out on SoundCloud for the whole world to see, especially their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She painstakingly worked with him to put together this 3-hour collage of their marriage over the years (1942 – 1976), with commentary on the footage and pictures, and added each of us, their seven children, in the order we were born. I was their lucky number six!
When my footage came up, she shared a story about me that I vividly remember. We had gotten a pretty big snowstorm in the winter of 1970, about a foot. My father had a debilitating stroke when I was two. When he was well enough, he ran the household and helped my mother secure a job with PTC (Philadelphia Transit Company), which later merged with the suburban line, Red Arrow, to form what is now SEPTA. My neighbor, friend, and schoolmate, Kevin, and I started out pretty early, and we both made about $155 each in about 7 hours of shoveling.
We were heading home when I said to him, “You go ahead without me; I needed to stop at a couple of stores.” Unbeknownst to me, something my mother shared on the tape many years later. I might add that transit companies don’t take snow days, and for my mother, who was out the door by 6-6:15 every morning, it was no different.
First stop was Scott’s Market to buy her and my dad a leg of lamb. I knew it was her favorite meat, and something they would never spend the money on with 7 mouths to feed. Then, passing Polites florist, I asked the florist what his most expensive and rarest flower was to buy right now. He responded, “Why Gladiola’s?” I said, “I’d like to buy a dozen of them.” My last stop before heading home, about a block away, was Marshall’s Hardware. I figured I should at least replace the old, rusty metal shovel, so I bought a brand-new one for the house.
Well, the joy and the look on their faces, especially mom’s when she got in from work, were priceless and worth every penny. I still had quite a bit of money left to put in the bank. Yes! From 7th grade, and at this time in 8th, I had a Beneficial interest-bearing savings account.
In closing, just before Thanksgiving 1982, she had all of us siblings, along with our significant others, view the tape. My sister Nancy (vocalist), my brother Andy (pianist), and our late brother Larry (singer/songwriter) would each record tribute pieces on the tape. I was not only surprised by my mom telling the story of that snowy day but also taken by the song my brother Larry wrote and performed.
The tape ends with just slides of my dad and mom from over the years, set to the music my brother wrote and recorded; he simply called it” Dad’s Song”. He explained, after we all wiped the tears from our eyes, Mom recorded it on a tape player she had in her kitchen, at his kitchen table. If you knew Larry, he rarely sat down without a cup of tea. So, as the song plays, almost perfectly placed in it are first his tea Kettle whistling and, a few moments later, the train whizzing by his house at the time. He wrote the song at Mom’s request and as a tribute to their Anniversary. I share this as a tribute to my late parents and brother. Click the below QR code
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