Remembering Daddy
Jun 21, 2015 13:57:41 GMT -5
Post by ozarxoffspring on Jun 21, 2015 13:57:41 GMT -5
To some, Father's Day is a day countless children take time out to pay homage to their fathers, both living and those who have passed. I suppose I fall into that category as I haven't been on this old stomping grounds of Daddy's in a while now, yet here I am.
There are some here who never "knew" Daddy. You missed the humor and wisdom of a great man. His writings can still be found here, his spirit lives on in all the little tid-bits he left throughout this site. He touched many lives. But let me tell you of how you touched his.
Way before I came to live with Mom (Ozark Angel) and Daddy (Ozark) I began to hear about Doug's Message Board. I called and checked on them just about every day and Daddy was quick to tell me about what all he had read and posted here. He began to call you by your "handles," he called it (an old CB-er once) and began getting quickly involved any way he could in making your lives easier, or at least easier to cope with.
Daddy was an insomniac as far back as I can remember. Doug's Message Board didn't help--in fact, it may have exacerbated the condition. But oh, with much pleasure did you make his sleepless nights bearable. Always the reader and a writer at heart, he found countless hours of captive audience with you. All of you. Never did I hear him complain about any post, or person posting it.
Then came the time the health of my parents was to the point they needed assistance. That's where I came in. A middle child and with "middle child-syndrome" as bad as it gets, selfishly, I welcomed the day that it was "all about me." I wasn't TOTALLY selfless, you see
To assist you with understanding our family dynamic, here's how it was, at least from my perspective: Mom was the disciplinarian. She sort of had to be. Daddy having a career in the US Army, Mom was left with three kids and if she didn't want a house full of hoodlums, by default, the rod fell into her lap. Now Daddy? Well, what Mom lacked in patience, Daddy made up for in the ability to lead, to teach, and to encourage. Don't get me wrong, Mom had MANY strong, positive attributes, but when it came to teaching us, it was "one and done!" In other words, you got one chance to follow through with her instructions/orders and if you didn't take full advantage of that, the "done" part came. Your butt was paddled with a wooden paddle.
Daddy, on the other hand, would look at your infraction from all angles and even bring you in on the process. Why you did/didn't do it? What factors came into play when the infraction took place? Who influenced us and whom was influence by our actions? Where the ball was dropped and the consequences of our actions. And most of all........what we had learned from it and the likelihood of it to pop back up in the future?
Having had adopted Daddy's way of child-rearing and always the over-thinker, my youngest son asked me once while I was in the middle of one of my record-long speeches/explanations, "Mom, can't you just whip me?" I had to laugh a little to myself.
I saw first-hand while living with Mom and Daddy just how excited and involved he got when someone here asked him a question about either some kind of ammo, hunting, or an opinion of his. Oh, my...and when he posted something, either a new thread or a reply to one of your writings, he'd go back every minute or so until he saw a comment to what he had written. It was comical, actually. He was like a little kid with a new "cat-eye" marble. He wanted to show it to everyone and oftentimes called me or Mom in from another room to show us pictures or read us posts you guys had updated.
The joy he got from this site was immeasurable. And because of that, Mom and I were equally blessed. We loved him so very much. His joy was our joy. And for that, I thank you from the depths of my soul.
I miss him every day and cry from time-to-time because it becomes unbearable. This site, for me, is a hallowed place. A place where my Daddy once roamed and can still be "heard" through the threads creating the tapestry of Doug's Message Board. Yes, today, as every day, I honor my Daddy, Ben R. Boyd, SR., known only as "Ozark" to many of you. But I want to thank ALL of you Dads today for being stand-up, honorable men to the children, grown or not, in your lives. Daddy was greatly respected, but also one who respected greatly those who were honest, hard-working, stand-up guys.
Happy Father's Day,
Teresa R. Boyd-Knappenberger
Ozark's middle child, youngest daughter, and biggest fan.
OZARXOFFSPRING
There are some here who never "knew" Daddy. You missed the humor and wisdom of a great man. His writings can still be found here, his spirit lives on in all the little tid-bits he left throughout this site. He touched many lives. But let me tell you of how you touched his.
Way before I came to live with Mom (Ozark Angel) and Daddy (Ozark) I began to hear about Doug's Message Board. I called and checked on them just about every day and Daddy was quick to tell me about what all he had read and posted here. He began to call you by your "handles," he called it (an old CB-er once) and began getting quickly involved any way he could in making your lives easier, or at least easier to cope with.
Daddy was an insomniac as far back as I can remember. Doug's Message Board didn't help--in fact, it may have exacerbated the condition. But oh, with much pleasure did you make his sleepless nights bearable. Always the reader and a writer at heart, he found countless hours of captive audience with you. All of you. Never did I hear him complain about any post, or person posting it.
Then came the time the health of my parents was to the point they needed assistance. That's where I came in. A middle child and with "middle child-syndrome" as bad as it gets, selfishly, I welcomed the day that it was "all about me." I wasn't TOTALLY selfless, you see
To assist you with understanding our family dynamic, here's how it was, at least from my perspective: Mom was the disciplinarian. She sort of had to be. Daddy having a career in the US Army, Mom was left with three kids and if she didn't want a house full of hoodlums, by default, the rod fell into her lap. Now Daddy? Well, what Mom lacked in patience, Daddy made up for in the ability to lead, to teach, and to encourage. Don't get me wrong, Mom had MANY strong, positive attributes, but when it came to teaching us, it was "one and done!" In other words, you got one chance to follow through with her instructions/orders and if you didn't take full advantage of that, the "done" part came. Your butt was paddled with a wooden paddle.
Daddy, on the other hand, would look at your infraction from all angles and even bring you in on the process. Why you did/didn't do it? What factors came into play when the infraction took place? Who influenced us and whom was influence by our actions? Where the ball was dropped and the consequences of our actions. And most of all........what we had learned from it and the likelihood of it to pop back up in the future?
Having had adopted Daddy's way of child-rearing and always the over-thinker, my youngest son asked me once while I was in the middle of one of my record-long speeches/explanations, "Mom, can't you just whip me?" I had to laugh a little to myself.
I saw first-hand while living with Mom and Daddy just how excited and involved he got when someone here asked him a question about either some kind of ammo, hunting, or an opinion of his. Oh, my...and when he posted something, either a new thread or a reply to one of your writings, he'd go back every minute or so until he saw a comment to what he had written. It was comical, actually. He was like a little kid with a new "cat-eye" marble. He wanted to show it to everyone and oftentimes called me or Mom in from another room to show us pictures or read us posts you guys had updated.
The joy he got from this site was immeasurable. And because of that, Mom and I were equally blessed. We loved him so very much. His joy was our joy. And for that, I thank you from the depths of my soul.
I miss him every day and cry from time-to-time because it becomes unbearable. This site, for me, is a hallowed place. A place where my Daddy once roamed and can still be "heard" through the threads creating the tapestry of Doug's Message Board. Yes, today, as every day, I honor my Daddy, Ben R. Boyd, SR., known only as "Ozark" to many of you. But I want to thank ALL of you Dads today for being stand-up, honorable men to the children, grown or not, in your lives. Daddy was greatly respected, but also one who respected greatly those who were honest, hard-working, stand-up guys.
Happy Father's Day,
Teresa R. Boyd-Knappenberger
Ozark's middle child, youngest daughter, and biggest fan.
OZARXOFFSPRING