Friday, June 12, 2009

More Birthdays

June is a busy month in my family. Not only do Jesse and Bo have birthdays a week apart, I have two nephews whose birthdays are June 1 and 3. When the kids were little, we usually had several parties and maybe one big one for everyone. My kids thought birthdays lasted all week.

Today my dad would be 81. Dad's birthdays were always fun to celebrate - kind of kick off party for the summer in Red River. One year we had a big party at the Motherlode in RR. Lots of people surprised Dad when they showed up wearing overalls, which was Dad's signature summer clothes. Knowing that Dad did not normally wear his overalls to the bar for a night of dancing, we bought him a brand new pair, which he promptly changed into at the party. The next day, he was walking down Main Street in RR, when Steve H, owner of the Motherlode, hollered from the porch of the bar. " Hey Otto, you left your pants at the bar last night!" Steve didn't think how that sounded shouted out in public. Dad was a bit embarrassed, and yet he thought it was pretty funny.
Here are some photos taken at Texas Red's on Dad's birthday. You will see Jesse on the far left sitting in my cousin's lap. That is my sister in the blue standing up behind Bo, then me, Mom and Dad. Here is Loretta serving Dad a birthday ice cream and probably singing some silly song as was the custom at Reds. Although those are some nice photos of my family, Dad was also famous for growing his beard in the summer. I loved that about him. He certainly didn't look like your typical school principal.
I am headed to WF today to spend the day with Mom.

11 comments:

The Friendly Neighborhood Piper said...

i can see him in you in the second pic...man...i wish i coulda known him...it woulda been a hoot!

Bag Blog said...

Piper, you don't know the half of it - I will tell you stories sometime. And yes, I do look like my dad.

Mrs. Bear said...

Awwwh. I can't even being to comment...well maybe I can LOL...For those of you that didn't get the blessing of knowing Otto let me assure you that you missed someone that is unlike anyone I have ever met...he taught us about life and family...sometimes over a bottle of Wild Turkey...sometimes with a seriousness in his eyes that would curl your toes. Oh what fun...Wild Turkey, overalls, home made pies, toothpicks, gummy bears (for Erin) the first part of June...life was good!!!

Buck said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Buck said...

Typo. I hate it when that happens.

Once again... great post and photos. It's GOOD to reminisce about those we love deeply. They may leave this earth but they never leave us completely.

I hope your day with your Mom is good, Lou.

Bag Blog said...

Anny, you are so right about Dad. He was always a teacher, and he loved his students. I kind of liked the lessons over Wild Turkey. The seriousness in those blue eyes were sometime scary.

Buck, I like the thought of loved ones never leaving us completely - an encouragement for sure. My day with Mom went very well.

Becky G said...

Your stories make me wish I had been blessed enough to know him.

September and October are the birthday months in my family. Seems like half the family has birthdays in those months.

Bag Blog said...

Becky, I always wonder what was going on nine months before all the birthdays to see why so many kids were born then. For me, getting pregnant at the end of the summer, going to school all nine months while pregnant, and having the baby right as summer started was convenient. I had all summer to play with my babies before school started again.

Jo Castillo said...

Love this story about your Dad. He was a handsome man, too.

Becky G said...

I know that in my family's case, if you count back 9 months from September/October, you get the December/January time frame. I think maybe they were just trying to keep warm!

The Friendly Neighborhood Piper said...

I am a late October baby...and personally, i think it might have been a residual effect of Valentine's Day.