The Old Man...

[Superreverb]

I PM'd Dave McC, but haven't posted anything on the board. The Old Man, my Dad, died on 6 March 2008 at 1:15AM. He languished in the ICU for too, too long before he finally went. He taught me about guns, taught me how to shoot, taught me how to be a proper human being, gave me a wealth of toys in the past few months and a wealth of information over the course of my life, and helped to make me what I am today. What I wouldn't give for one more round of trap or skeet with him.

I skipped my "Geezing Session" this past Friday as I was planning Dad's "wake." My Wife was busting my chops to come up with some fitting tribute to display for our guests. At 8PM-ish Saturday night it hit me.



Mom brought me his dog-tags on Sunday. I hung them from the carbine. I wished that I still had his old boots that he brought home from Korea in '51to have added to the tribute , but, sadly, they are long gone.

Do The Old Man a favor, eh? Call your Folks, if they're still living, and shoot the breeze for a bit.

Bye, Pop. Love ya.

Ed

 

[huckster]

RIP

fitting tribute - well done

 

[sm]

Superreverb,

Sincere condolences to your and yours.

Fitting tribute indeed!


Respectfully,

Steve

 

[Robert Hairless]

Seeing it brought moisture to my eyes. You were raised properly. Nothing better can I say.

 

[Striker]

Ed,

My condolences to you, your mom, and the family.

Korean vets in general and 7th ID vets in particular, are special to me. Bayonet!

Very Respectfully,

Jack

 

[Dave McCracken]

Condolences, my fnend. While we remember them they are not far away.

 

[foghornl]

WOW!

Indeed, a more than fitting tribute...

Foggy said while wiping away a tear or 12.

The "Old Man" brought you up right. And a tip of the hat to him for his service.

 

[Fergy35]

My condolences to you and your family. Sounds like he was a very good man.

I like the tribute. Well done. If you keep him in your memories and share stories of him often, he will never be far from your heart.

Take care and God bless!

 

[chas08]

Well done!!
Sincere condolences,
Chas

 

[BigG]

Sorry to hear about your loss. Thanks for reminding us to cherish our parents, too.

 

[plumberroy]

My condolences and prayers go out to your family
Outstanding Tribute !!!
Brought tears to the eyes of of this old hillbilly I would bet that their are a bunch of Warriors in heaven patting Your Dad on the back and pointing down here saying "your Son done You proud"
R.I.P. WARRIOR You deeds are why I'm FREE

 

[Seven©]

Sincere condolences, Ed.

Rejoice in the fact you had a great father, and remember the good times.

The greatest tribute we can give our fathers is to be the father to our kids that they were to us.

If I can be half the man my dad was, I'll be a great man and father.

~Tom

 

[Superreverb]

Thanks for the kind words, guys. He was good Father - yeah, he made a few little boo-boos along the way, but he did a damn good job with me, I think. My kids idolized him and they miss him terribly, but they have great memories of joking around with him and remember, literally, every story he told them (some cute, some...er...slightly off-color <G>).

After his "wake," when the only folks left were close friends and family, my buddy, Jim, and I brought up the present I bought for The Old Man back in June. He never got to see nor shoot it, because by then he had convinced himself that he was housebound. Oh, the quality time he, BoyTwin, and I could've had.

His prezzie:



You will note the boy's excellent trigger discipline! Yup - The Old Man taught me, and I taught him. Perfect, no?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Perfect.....

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

Hard for me to post to this.

I lost my own father a few weeks ago, way too soon. I've been married and out of the house for over 37 years, but I still miss him when I see something neat and think "I gotta show dad this" or think of some question about WWII, finances or antique furniture and think "I'll ask dad about this".

I don't think the hurt ever goes away...

My condolences.

 

[MikePGS]

Lee and Super, I'm sorry to hear about both of your losses

 

[evbutler462]

My dad passed away a little over 30 years ago. He was not a hunter. He didn't even own a shotgun. He had no objection of my getting one when I was around 14 years old. He knew nothing about hunting or shooting but he gave me free rein to learn on my own. I passed what little I learned to my two sons. They are now excellent shooter and own a safe full of guns each.

Now I am the Old Man and I have cancer and will probably not be around too many more seasons. I've explained it to my sons. I didn't have to tell them that most of my seasons were over. They knew it. I did make them the same promise that Robert Ruarks's Old Man made him in the "Old Man and the Boy", it won't happen on opening day. All the tests came back and only confirmed what I already knew.

I only hope they will remember me lke Superreverb remembered his Dad. I would be honored if they do. Your Dad left you a legacy, Superreverb. Honor it as long as you live.

Happy shooting!