Jennifro

DEAREST DADDY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE #1 POP 

ON THE PLANET!

So I've got like two minutes till the clock strikes 12 and I turn into a well, you know...squinty-eyed, wrinkled, exhausted person and Big Daddy's day ends.  But really how can I not give even the lamest tribute to the man I love most.  (sorry Nick I'll love you best on your birthday).  

J ust about the funniest guy you'll ever meet.  Ask any past students, boyfriends, girlfriends, relations, co workers, church people etc. the humor is second to none! Second. To. None.  One time when "slime" just came out, he pretended to sneeze on my grandma and flicked the slimiest, greenest, hugest fake goober you've EVER seen on her forearm.  I will NEVER forget Gma with her wild-eyes, curly head darting away, spastic arm trying to shake itself from it's own body as she shreiked, "Ohhhh, John!! Ohhhhhh JOHN!!!!!  Get it off!"

O ne of a kind nicknames.  He's named everyone from Berhead to Stinklands 1-4, Kelsburg, Karnak and all the rest.  If he knows you you've pretty much got one.  They usually have absolutely no sentimental origin except for when he calls Mom, "May" perhaps.

H onesty is his middle name.  This was not just chosen cause I'm tired and desperate and have an H to work with.  He is so incredibly honest it makes me nuts.  BUT I will say, it's his voice in the back of my mind saying " DON'T DO IT DAUGHTER!" when I consider stealing things.

N icest guy in the world.  Sound cliche.  Not at all.  The guy IS the nicest man in the world.  He will help anyone, just last week at Mitch's wedding a good friend got choked up talking about the kindness my dad showed his brother.  I can't imagine anyone being lonely with my dad around.  He loves people and whoever he's with knows it.  He's such a softy that one time when our car (Vega) broke down in a bad part of town he felt so sad for it he went to great lengths to get it back before nightfall. Couldn't bear to have it have it's feelings hurt.  Wacky but true.

M r. Miller.  That's what about 50,000 "kids" know him as.  It's pretty much impossible to go anywhere in Vegas without hearing, "Hey Mr. Miller remember me?!"  This is always followed by a "yep, short fat kid from 7th grade?"  or something to that effect.  Nothing was cooler than having my dad at my junior high.  He'd come into our (his kids) classrooms and tip our desk over while we were in it, or kiss us a million times on our face to the horror of other kids that didn't know the relationship...that or come into our class smiling huge with chewed up chocolate and nuts or peaches or whatever completely covering his top row of teeth.  

I celander.  My dad is part Icelandic.  Therefore so am I.  A few years back he visited Iceland and came back so inspired he learned the language and was fluent within a month.  I don't think any of us thought him capable of such a task.  And he wasn't; that was all a lie.  I bet he could care less to visit Iceland.  But we love him just the same.

L over not a fighter. (borrowed that from Michael Jackson) This is absolutely true.  When we were young, we could get my dad riled up pretty easily...I especially had a talent for pushing his buttons.  But the sad part of that is, that is totally against who he is. Sorry pops you didn't deserve that! He is good natured through and through--unless he's fixing something. There's really no one with a shorter fuse when it comes to handy-man type jobs.  That or when he hurts one of his toes.

L ives to serve.  This can mean lots of things.  Usually however, it means something from the kitchen.  The guy makes a heckuva taco salad, incredibly fresh stroganoff and has coined more meals than Julia Child. From Meal Versaci to Scampi's of all sorts, there's not a limit to what he can create.  A few months back at breakfast he said "You know why those eggs taste different dontcha? It's taco meat from last night--not sausage." (Mom's face dropped) He makes Mom's lunch every morning to take to work (yams, peas, chicken something) and just last week I was told how much she loves tacos for breakfast, "No, Jennifer I'm serious she loves them in the morning!"  

E ntertainer.  That is he.  He has a tremendous singing voice.  And something that chokes me up even now is imagining him singing, "One of these mornings and it won't be long, you'll call my name and I'll be gone.  Fare thee well oh honey, fare thee well."  He can play the guitar, rock out with the best of him, and has a red checked gingham sport coat he reserves for just the right occasions.  If it wasn't 12:41 I could really elaborate here...but one of my favorite childhood memories is him sitting on our bed playing his guitar and singing the lonesome sounding "Wynken, Blynken and Nod." What a gift his voice has been.

R eally easy to talk into things.  Real easy. Dad will do anything we ask.  If Jek and I want to go to Q Mode (our favorite TPT clothing store in a ghetto Vegas strip mall) he'll watch the girls for hours (you could be in Q Mode for hours).  If I want to buy seven chandeliers and a 300 lb mirror while in Vegas, he'll agree to pack it up and send it (though he'll NEVER grant me this again).  When we were young we could get out of any batch of dishes if we agreed to scratch his back and/or rub his ears and head. Dad's just agreeable.  Even now, doesn't matter what we ask, he says, "OKAY." (as long as we rub his hand a minute).

I love you Dad!  You are the epitome of a 

ONE OF A KIND 

husband, dad, grandfather and friend.  

You are cherished by us all.

-Little Yenni