Let's Take a Lil Stroll Down Memory Lane...

Happy Birthday, Dad. I sure don't have many pictures of you when you were T-tiny. So here are some more recent.

Dig the bow tie. Was that in fashion, or were you trying to bring it back?

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You got married, had a few kids . . . beautiful, charming kids . . .

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And then a third kid, a boy this time, who grew up awfully fast.

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Wallah. Suddenly, you're a grampaw.

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Here you are with two brothers and their wives, real close to where you guys played softball so long ago. Uncle Moose there, the one with the highwaters, practically raised you. Both Uncle Moose and Uncle Bill have been such a big part of our lives.

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Here's a typical Christmas picture. You always get the strangest gifts!

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Every year the ladies get away to Gatlinburg to rest and shop. Every year, you drop in and "surprise" them. Here you are at the Apple Barn with Emma. Apple Barn..... MMMMMM! I'm getting to where I count on you dropping in at G-burg to bring me my coffee in the mornings while we're all battling for the bathroom & getting dressed.

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One consistency in your life has been your engineering skills. I wish this picture was better to show all your inventions. I'm sure all those gadgets hanging made fishing so much easier on you..... as long as you stayed away from the reach of the mountain laurel. Did Steve have to untangle you?

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This is one of those pictures for which I never got the story. You're wearing Uncle Pete's helmet, it looks like. And maybe giving some top military command? Or maybe the secret hand signal?

Thanks for being the BEST dad on earth! We'll be on our annual Gatlinburg trip when this posts -- hurry & get me my coffee for crying out loud.

Happy Birthday, Dad!