Sharla's Memories

• Standing on the sidewalk in front of the house and waiting until we could see someone coming toward us. Waiting till we were quite sure and running up the block (if Layne was with me) to greet him as he walked home from the bus stop.
  
• Hugging his knees.
  
• Playing marbles on the round rug in the living room.
  
• His racing Sandy down the block and hitting the broken sidewalk in front of Lundbergs?, turfing it good and putting a hole in his new slacks.
  
• His going to the ward softball game and pitching and telling me not to tell mom.
  
• His putting alcohol on the wounds on my knees and shoulder and anywhere else I got them.
  
• His having me soak my infected scabs on my knees and shoulders (or where ever they were for that particular incident) and then pulling off the scabs and putting alcohol on my wounds again and bandaging me up - again.


• His putting alcohol on anything that needed fixing - including the dining room table.
  
• His skipping home with me from grandma's. We didn't last half a block, but I was thrilled that my serious, sober daddy would skip with me.
  
• The Lagoon days for the Bennett's party and how he would dare be seen by his secretaries in his swim suit.
  
• The Rotary parties in Mutton Hollow.
  
• He'd let me sit in Senator Bennett's office at his big desk with the huge glass slab while he finished working.
  
• His coming to look for me at Lagoon, Antelope Island, a few parties and even an evening orchestra practice if he thought it was time I be home.
  
• His grimacing whenever he tied his shoes. (I do that now)
  
• His kicking Reuben (cat) off the porch.
  
• His putting epsom salts on Reuben's bloody head when he got chewed up by another cat.
  
• His letting us sit on the back of the couch and comb his chair.
  
• How strong his arms were.


• He didn't like Red Skelton or Jack Benny or Three Stooges - or us telling too many jokes at the table.
  
• His climbing under the sink and fixing the disposal.
  
• How he said 'no' and how it always stayed 'no' even when I think he may have wanted to change his mind.
  
• His singing 'Sandman' to me before I went away to BYU.
  
• A letter to me at BYU with a dollar in it so I could take my roommate to JB's for a piece of strawberry pie.
  
• How he lit up when the grandkids came.
  
• How he would fret when the grandkids came.
  
• How he would walk me out to the car and offer to pay for the gas for having driven up to visit them.
  
• Him and mom as they stood on their porch and waved goodbye to us when we drove away.
  
• How it felt to hug him when I knew someday he wouldn't be there to hug.


• And I remember giving him his last haircut and telling him the difference between a good haircut and a bad one was 2 weeks and that he had to wait at least two weeks to die so he would look good at his funeral. He didn't.

We never wondered if our dad loved us. I remember that most.

Thanks Papa.