My dad was the worst Catchprase player in the history of the game. If you aren't familiar with the game, it consists of a little disc that you pass around in a circle. It throws up a word on a screen, and you try to get your teammates to guess the word without saying it. As it circles, the disc beeps slowly at first and speeds up as time goes by and then lets out a final alarm. Whoever is caught holding it is the loser, and the opposing team gets a point.
I got this game several years ago for Christmas, and it has come to be one of the best ones I have ever owned. I can think of so many occasions where I have been sitting at a table surrounded by family & friends, and we are shouting and gesturing like a bunch of loonies let out of the crazy house. All in the name of a game.
My dad played with us a lot, and it was guaranteed that as soon as the disc landed in his lap he would take off his glasses, slowly set them on his knee, hold the disc out so he could read the screen, start snapping his fingers trying to come up with the perfect word and then start smiling, snorting and then laughing. No sense of urgency.
We are all screaming! VCR! Worm Hole! Just throwing stuff out there to see what sticks. Then after a LONG time, he would spit something out and the answer would be clear as day. Sometimes he would just get under the buzzer, but more times than not he would get caught holding the disc.
He loved playing despite his inability to think quickly on his feet because I think he felt part of the gang. Sitting with all of his girls and their friends, drinking beer and hanging out.
When I want to see my dad , I just close my eyes and let memories like this one come to mind. And I can hear his voice and see his smile. And then I start remembering all of the little things that made him who he was to me.
How he ate potato chips. How he lifted his eyebrows for no apparent reason. How he adjusted his glasses while he smoked a Marlboro. How he walked around in tennis shoes with the laces loose and untied. How he would take a sip of a beer and hold it in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. How he always had a dishtowel slung over his shoulder when he was cooking. How much would I give to see these little things just one more time.
I got this game several years ago for Christmas, and it has come to be one of the best ones I have ever owned. I can think of so many occasions where I have been sitting at a table surrounded by family & friends, and we are shouting and gesturing like a bunch of loonies let out of the crazy house. All in the name of a game.
My dad played with us a lot, and it was guaranteed that as soon as the disc landed in his lap he would take off his glasses, slowly set them on his knee, hold the disc out so he could read the screen, start snapping his fingers trying to come up with the perfect word and then start smiling, snorting and then laughing. No sense of urgency.
We are all screaming! VCR! Worm Hole! Just throwing stuff out there to see what sticks. Then after a LONG time, he would spit something out and the answer would be clear as day. Sometimes he would just get under the buzzer, but more times than not he would get caught holding the disc.
He loved playing despite his inability to think quickly on his feet because I think he felt part of the gang. Sitting with all of his girls and their friends, drinking beer and hanging out.
When I want to see my dad , I just close my eyes and let memories like this one come to mind. And I can hear his voice and see his smile. And then I start remembering all of the little things that made him who he was to me.
How he ate potato chips. How he lifted his eyebrows for no apparent reason. How he adjusted his glasses while he smoked a Marlboro. How he walked around in tennis shoes with the laces loose and untied. How he would take a sip of a beer and hold it in his mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. How he always had a dishtowel slung over his shoulder when he was cooking. How much would I give to see these little things just one more time.
These were the things you would only know after spending years and years around him, and I hold so tight to these things because this is the stuff that makes me feel better when I am sad and missing him.
My dad has been gone 6 months today. He meant the world to me. But these small things that I wrote about are what keeps him close to me. I love you Daddy.
My dad has been gone 6 months today. He meant the world to me. But these small things that I wrote about are what keeps him close to me. I love you Daddy.
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