Here's a good example of extreme parenting. This dad rocks!

This book rocks. My Dad would always say if I haven't taught you the difference between right and wrong by now you will never learn.

The father in this book made some dramatic impressions in the short time he had with his son. Definitely a good read. Crazy for the Storm is the first entree on the Dumbdumbdaddyo Book Club must read list.

DDD rating ****
Crazy for the Storm
by Norman Ollestad

"There are moments in sports and in life that make all the hard work worth it." DDD

Here is a picture of one of those moments. A picture is worth a thousand words. My Dad's teammate making a spectacular catch for a touch down against LSU made it into the Wood Box. It shows so much of what it was like to play back then. Hard helmets with no face mask (are you kidding me)?! This Lou must have been a tight end because of his size and jersey number. In high school I was a starting defensive tackle as a junior. My Dad suggested that I try out for tight end because it looked like I wasn't going to get big enough to play DT in big time college ball. He also taught me how to long snap, said, "every team needs a good long snapper and you'll see that no one else will want to do it." He was right on all counts, my senior year I played DT, TE and long snapper (only left the field for kick-offs and concussions)! In college I was the third string TE and second string long snapper for four straight years. My junior year we won the MAC Championship and beat LSU when they were rank #4. My senior year we played Jimmy Johnson's #1 ranked, undefeated Miami Hurricanes in Miami in the Orange Bowl Stadium. Miami University didn't beat the University of Miami that day, but it was a great expeirence. My Mom and Dad made the trip and I got a lot of playing time (Rose didn't want the starters getting too beaten up). My Dad said it brought back some good memories seeing me play on a field he had also played on. My college carerer wasn't very impressive, but at least I earned a business degree! Coach Rose and I never really did hit it off. In fact, it was more of a hate / hate relationship, but at least we knew where each other stood.

My Dad said remember the good times

In his Wood Box there were only a few sports related newspaper clippings. The picture of his teammate's leaping fingertip grab for a touchdown against LSU, the article from Alabama about him playing in the upcoming Gator Bowl and me (legging it out)! The articles from my baseball career were a real surprise. During my freshman through senior years of high school I played a lot of baseball and my parents came to almost every game. In the summers I played in two leagues, the county league (Mon., Wed., and Friday night games) and the American Legion select team (Tues. and Thurs. nights with double headers on Sat. and Sunday), that's nine games a week.

These articles chronicled my career pretty well. From the bottom up, we were "Challenging the Establishment" my sophomore year, I can't believe I was batting .533 half-way through  the season. I remember batting in clean up that year with our lead off batter hitting .900! I made the Legion select team that year and we went to the State Playoffs. The middle article was from my junior year and brings me to another dumbdumbdaddyoism, "You're gonna wanna remember that one forever!" He said you have to remember the good times and do your best to forget the bad.

The articles chronicle a day where me and two teammates won the Legion county championship sending us to the state playoffs for the second straight year, jumped in our cars, rushed across town and then won the county rec. league championship! I remember him clipping it, saying you don't see that every day, you're in two articles winning two championships on the same page of the newspaper.

The article below is from my senior year, we had just won our third straight American Legion League Championship. In the article I am described as unheralded, because mt senior year I was recovering from a nasty post surgical staph infection in my knee. On the first day of high school ball I went into the emergency room at Holly Cross and didn't leave the hospital for 31 days. Almost lost my leg. I remember during try-outs for Legion that year my coach, Coach Bovelo, said, "You're so slow you're going to get a sun burn running to first!" I limped along that season as a platoon starter and did some relief pitching, but was a shadow of my former self. I would have forgotten this if it wasn't for my Dad clipping it and stashing it in the bottom of his Wood Box, my last at bat in my baseball career was as a DH and I hit a three run homer over the left center field fence at the University of Maryland to tie the game in the league championship! "THAT ONE you're gonna wanna remember forever!" Thanks for helping me remember the good times Dad.

I was twelve when I started throwing 80+ mile an hour heaters and that's when I realized my Dad wasn't exactly young anymore. He would get so mad when I would zing one in there on him hurting his hand. He say something like, "Take it easy on your dumb dumb daddy-o, I'm too old to ketch the heat!"

On the Dock with My Parents, Nephews and Pepi! 1992?

My daughter looked over my shoulder while I as looking at this picture and said, “That picture’s funny.” I asked what she thought was funniest about it and she said my poofy hair. I asked my wife what she thought was funniest and she said the v-neck tie dye shirt and the poofy hair. I remember that shirt, it’s not a v-neck, and it was a regular t-shirt just all stretched out because I had just gotten back from two very sweaty Grateful Dead shows at the sPectrum in Philly. What I thought was funniest is the look on my Dog Pepi’s face. She 14, that’s 98 to you and me, and she always knew when to look at the camera, she was so smart (toy fox terrier) best little dog ever. My nephews in their diapers and undies are pretty funny. Check my Mom’s poofiness! Seeing the laughter on my parent’s faces is what makes this picture so special to me. Pepi is definitely smiling. Seeing Pepi means this was near the beginning of my life with Sam.

#10 "...the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, the meekness of true strength."

Knowledge is powerful self knowledge is empowering!

This worked when I re-read it inserting the feminine for my daughters. Already I have not lived in vain.

Wood Box Clipping #9 to sipp of the sweet nector of life...

My Dad quoted this clipping from his box during his Best

Man's toast at my wedding in 1999. It was magical moment.

Wood Box Clipping #8

Wood Box Clipping #6

We are the saviors of my life

This is my Dad’s “metal from the war”

That’s all he ever said about it. “That’s my metal from the war. You want it?”  I assume it’s an active service during a war metal for being a Marine. My Dad was in the Pacific theater during World War II and I know nothing about what he did. It must be the way he wanted it. I remember stories of boxing on ships and that he was always the only one who knew how to type, but besides that I know nothing.

I once asked my Dad if I should be a Marine. He said, “No”. Later, when I pushed him he said you have to be able to do what you are told. You have to listen. I said I can do what I am told. He said, “You have to love being told what to do. And that ain’t you!” No sir, it wasn’t.

My three nephews are Marines. We are all so proud.

The sixty year old scrap of notebook paper with “My Rifle” hand written on it makes me wonder. I’m sure he had to recite it in the Corp, but why keep it? Was it the first thing he ever had to truly memorize? Doubt it, a creed sworn to by God, is not something my Dad would take lightly.

“Before God I swear this creed. My rifle and myself are the defenders of my country. We are the masters of our enemy. We are the saviors of my life, so be it, until there is no enemy, but peace!”

On the front of my Dad’s metal it simply reads World War II. On the back it reads United States of America 1941 -1945 FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT—FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND RELIGION

His story in the Pacific may never be told, but I don’t think this would bother him.

We are the saviors of my life

The Keiths on Top of Aspen Mountain!

Eighteen years ago, shortly after I moved to Aspen I got this, "I love you" memo from my Dad. It was the first nice thing I ever heard him say about his Dad. This poem is incredible. But the letter blows me away. My Dad never had any trouble saying I love you. In fact, I think he said it to us every night. That must be why it is so easy for me to say, "Night night I LOVE YOU!" to my girls or maybe I just love them so much!

"Sent by your DDD who loves and respects you as much it is possible for a man to love a son."
Quite a memo. I am glad he also sent one to J.

"Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans."
"Be yourself."
"everywhere life is full of heroism."
"be at peace with God."
"keep peace with your soul."
"it is still a beautiful world."
"Be careful."
"Strive to be happy."

Shortly after I got to Aspen I got this "I love you" in a memo from my Dad!

DESIDERATA from my grandfather!

best wood box clipping ever

I never got it.

I never got a lot of what my Dad said. Listening wasn't my strong suite. He was also very sarcastic. Chloe, who was three at the time, cryed almost every time I talked to her until my wife explained she doesn't get my sarcasm. She told me sarcasm is a mean way to communicate and I agree.

My Dad was a sarcastic optimist with bad luck, which leads to dumb dumb daddyo #8; whenever I did something gross or ill mannered he say, "Good thing you're home. Where you can itch where it scratches!"

Maybe I still don't get it, but I think it meant, to him, "a man has got to do what a man has got to do." and "love what you got." Plain and simple truths to live by. DDD

The Wood Box

“Nothing seems so tragic to one who is old as the death of one who is young, and this alone proves that life is a good thing.” -Zoe Akins

Marine Face

“What does your Dad do for a living?” He’s an Association Executive. “Oh. What’s that?” It’s a non-profit group that brings together members of a particular industry that they all represent. These associations organize conventions, offer certification and educational opportunities, publish industry magazines, and lobby on behalf of that industry. “Whatever?”

My Dad had a clipping he thought described what he did. I’ll scan it.

He would always cut clippings of people he admired, articles of our friends who have succeeded in some great way or inspirational bytes.

I finally opened the Wood Box. He had kept clippings in there for as long as I can remember. My Dad gave a lot of speeches and said he used these for levity in long spaces of dry material.

First thing on top of the pile is his passport, his picture from 1980 with full Marine Face, looking directly at the camera. I said earlier that my memory appears to be factually incorrect and I always thought he was born in 1928, but his birthday is clearly Jan. 11, 1927. The look on his face in his passport is the kind of look he would give me for doing something stupid like getting his birthday wrong for about thirty years or so.

I pick up his passport and four clippings fall out of it making my first foray into the Wood Box easy.

“The greatest mistake you can make is to be continually fearing that you’ll make a mistake.” -Elbert Hubbard

“Most of our suspicions of others are aroused by our knowledge of ourselves.” -Raymond Massey

“Nothing seems so tragic to one who is old as the death of one who is young, and this alone proves that life is a good thing.” -Zoe Akins

The last you’ll have to check the scan…an Alabama truism.

clippings

association clipping