Taking the Challenge

Your mission this week, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Sunday, 16 June, is Father's Day.  Let's celebrate by writing a blog post about our Father, or another significant male ancestor (e.g., a grandfather).

2)  What are three things about your father (or significant male ancestor) that you vividly remember about him?

3)  Tell us all about it in your own blog post, in a comment to this post, or in a Facebook Status or Google+ Stream post.
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Above is the challenge from Randy Seaver of the Genea-Musings blog

Many have seen my earlier post with my Father's obituary on it, My father passed away Friday on Flag day.  So this is my first Father's Day without one.

The three memories of my father I am sharing surround Baseball/Softball:

1.  He loved watching baseball /softball on TV.  He was an equal opportunity observer.  He did not care what level  - college, pro,  girls, boys - it did not matter.  Since he wasn't able to talk due to a brain event for the last 24 years of his life one had to sort out the exact question to ask him.  After years of trying to figure out why he did not have a special team and seemed to want to watch any and  all, the question occurred to me "  Dad" I asked, "Are you watching the Umpires?"  He nodded yes.  He liked the game but he was really just checking out the umpires to see if they were making the right calls.
 
2.  One of the things my Dad did prior to his illness was umpire.  When we cleaned out his house after he got ill we found his umpire protector, mask and his ball/strike/out counter.  (this was before the padding became part of the uniform)  I found out that he began umpiring while in high school and did it off and on throughout his life.

3.  We were a baseball/softball playing group.  I found team pictures with my brother and behind him is my dad as his coach. My father and brother often participated in adult softball leagues.  Even I had played softball growing up.  This might be why I had my boys play baseball and my daughter softball during their elementary days.  Bekah,  You can blame your Grandpa for the softball rather than dance choice I made for you.

Baseball probably will always be in my life.  I will watch the umpires,  watch the College World Series in his honor (living in Omaha he frequently went), watch the pro teams my kids are following and grin that they are caring on the family tradition that started with my father's father and mother.

Dad, I hope we are doing you proud!!  Enjoy running the bases in heaven.