Comments on The Fifty Factor: Joy Ride

I'm pretty new around here, but this post made...

2010-03-16T22:52:57.766-07:00

I'm pretty new around here, but this post made me realize we've got a lot in common. I lost my own dad when he was very young (46). There were five of us kids, and there are 10 grandkids. And you know what? Some of my very favorite memories of childhood are our trips in the station wagon, facing backward sitting in the backseat, waving at all of the people we passed by...

oh Joanna, I felt my heart pierced through with m...

2010-03-14T06:36:31.976-07:00

oh Joanna,
I felt my heart pierced through with much of this.

for your words of honour
for the loss
for how we hope as parents to leave these permanent love marks deep in the souls of our children
for how I remember too few of these rides

hugs to you

What a wonderful post. I'm sorry you lost your...

2010-03-13T15:30:41.027-08:00

What a wonderful post. I'm sorry you lost your dad so young.

After my dad died, my mom said, "I do miss your dad, but there's a little bit of him in each one of you kids, so that makes me feel like he is still here." How sweet is that?!

Joanna, this is a wonderful tribute to your dad. ...

2010-03-11T22:09:27.924-08:00

Joanna, this is a wonderful tribute to your dad. I'm sorry for your loss of him so early in life, but he obviously left you with very precious memories to remember him by. I can remember the weekend drives to nowhere with my parents in our big 1959 Cadillac, the model with the big tail fins.

Beautiful Post! Bravo! You and I (and many other...

2010-03-11T21:22:28.289-08:00

Beautiful Post! Bravo! You and I (and many others by the replies) are of a shared mind. Astonishing, really.

My father, a salesman, also loved the "drive" and always had a giant Olds or some used massive Caddy.

He lost his battle with cancer at 62. It's been 23 years now and I often also forget he is gone. That doesn't go away, which is a good thing, I think.

Four daughters and two sons here, the youngest being 37 now. So much a part of us and we are also all so totally different, yet so very close because of him.

Dad missed the lives of 9 of his 20 grandchildren and I know they would have loved him very much.

What you said about being closest to your dad in the car is me too, absolutely. It's crazy, but my will drive, by myself, for hours and it's like a meditation for me, like I'm there, with my dad (who was often a traveling salesman in my childhood) and we're eating the road together.

My dad would have been 88 this year. Wow. Thank you for this wonderful connection.

Cheers,

SLC

Oh that was an amazing post. You are so right and...

2010-03-11T01:49:56.802-08:00

Oh that was an amazing post.

You are so right and your father was far too young. I am sure he knows exactly what all his children and grandchildren are doing and looking upon you all very proudly.

So sorry for your loss! I also lost my father to ...

2010-03-10T20:11:25.635-08:00

So sorry for your loss! I also lost my father to cancer back in December of 2006. As you can imagine, the holidays are difficult.
It was a beautiful tribute to your dad.

What a lovely tribute to your Dad. So sweet..... ...

2010-03-10T17:39:59.762-08:00

What a lovely tribute to your Dad.

So sweet.....

Thanks for sharing your memories with us, Joanna.

xo

~Pissy

P.S. I meant to add that I am sorry your father d...

2010-03-10T17:20:45.789-08:00

P.S. I meant to add that I am sorry your father died so young.

I hear ya! Great shot of the red car & the si...

2010-03-10T17:18:10.339-08:00

I hear ya! Great shot of the red car & the side view mirror.

Grew up with Ford Country Sedan or Country Squire station wagons. My mother wouldn't have anything else. Ah, memories.

ah, such wonderful memories. Congratulations on y...

2010-03-10T15:11:09.596-08:00

ah, such wonderful memories.
Congratulations on your POTW at Hilary's!

What a sweet and beautiful tribute. What a wonderf...

2010-03-10T14:40:57.214-08:00

What a sweet and beautiful tribute. What a wonderful father.

ps. how i loved that backwards facing seat in our station wagon. :)

This post had everything for me. It brought back ...

2010-03-10T14:37:03.453-08:00

This post had everything for me. It brought back memories with the car and road trip. It made me think about how cheap gas was and how such simple things could be entertaining. But most of all, it made me realize how precious our love ones are and how we should never take them for granted. I am sure that your Dad would be proud of you. (((HUGS)))

That was so moving, Joanna. My father also died to...

2010-03-10T12:57:16.100-08:00

That was so moving, Joanna. My father also died too young - he was 58 when he passed away after a heart attack. It was 13 years ago on March 11.

Best wishes to you.

What a lovely post, Joanna. A great tribute to yo...

2010-03-10T12:06:44.156-08:00

What a lovely post, Joanna. A great tribute to your father.

Very nice post. Those Sunday drives were a ritual ...

2010-03-10T11:31:30.651-08:00

Very nice post. Those Sunday drives were a ritual in our family too and with six kids, a 9-passenger station wagon was a fixture in our driveway for years.

Funnily enough, many of our drives were to the local airport too, where we'd watch little Cessnas and Pipers take off and land. After an hour or so of that, we'd get an ice cream cone from the local dairy.

We were lucky enough to hang onto Dad until he was 84.

Thanks for the memories. :)

You made me cry and smile, what a lovely tribute ....

2010-03-10T07:31:32.127-08:00

You made me cry and smile, what a lovely tribute ..
AND
Congrats on the POTW from Hilary

What a beautiful tribute to your dad. I'm sure...

2010-03-10T07:15:04.216-08:00

What a beautiful tribute to your dad. I'm sure wherever he is now, he's beaming with pride at how much you love him. His legacy lives on in you. Thanks for sharing such a heartfelt tribute. :-)

What a gently beautiful sort of post. I'm so ...

2010-03-10T07:00:17.221-08:00

What a gently beautiful sort of post. I'm so sorry you lost your dad too soon, but it is wonderful that you remember him with such respect and love. May we all be remembered by someone in a similar fashion, when it comes our time to be remembered.

I remember going for drives as a form of entertainment, I used to like to do it also. Now it's not just too expensive, people are more careful about the environment. Overall that's a good thing, I know, but I do miss the times when simply going out to see the world around us, confident that it would always be there, primarily unchanged, was something that people did regularly.

Truly, what a nice post. Not only are you remembering your dad, judging from the comments, you've given many people the opportunity to remember also. Congrats on the post of the week mention over at Hilary's.

A wonderful tribute. Congratulations on the potw....

2010-03-10T05:59:07.716-08:00

A wonderful tribute. Congratulations on the potw. Very well deserved.

A high school English teacher of mine once asked us about our heroes. We made our various answers, I think I may have said John Lennon, I forget. We all pretty much named public figures of one sort or another. He seemed disappointed after we all were through.

We asked him what his answer would have been. He said his father. I didn't understand that then. Well, I was only 15.

I understand now.

What a lovely post and a tribute to your Dad. It ...

2010-03-10T05:35:17.552-08:00

What a lovely post and a tribute to your Dad. It would have been my Dad's birthday tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to your dad. He sounds like a wonde...

2010-03-10T04:39:40.180-08:00

Happy Birthday to your dad. He sounds like a wonderful father and a great man. I understand your feelings exactly for I feel the same way. When something exciting happens, I always think....I have to call mom! We had one of those big station wagons too and we loved it. We would ride home from the beach with our sandy feet hanging off the back as we sat on the open tailgate! Imagine that...and no one ever fell off!

That was a beautifully written post. Congrats on ...

2010-03-10T04:00:19.878-08:00

That was a beautifully written post. Congrats on a well-deserved Post of the Week!

That was an amazing tribute. ANd, my friend, I th...

2010-03-10T03:26:02.982-08:00

That was an amazing tribute. ANd, my friend, I throw my arms around you for a great big hug.

((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))

I feel many similarities to your story. Sunday af...

2010-03-10T02:34:52.364-08:00

I feel many similarities to your story. Sunday afternoon rides, Dad gone too soon, and still missing him. Bless you and your dear memories, What a nice story you wrote and how proud your father would be of you now.