New Family

Summer of 1983.

Father, Mother, and new baby.

We make a nice family, don't we? Well, I personally think I look like a minitaure Jabba the Hutt, but my parents look nice. And happy. I think they liked me.

Mom's smiling and Daddy just looks content, like everything's just how he wants it. I don't look too thrilled, but that was probably because I couldn't vocalise my feelings yet. Also, I probably hated the stupid hat.

The poses change, the outfits change (thankfully), the years pass, but the general feeling doesn't. We always look like family, like we fit.

Though, I'm not a hundred percent certain that Daddy had the best child holding tecnique, given that it looks like he's gripping me my shoulders, while I'm sorta sitting on Mom's lap (though to be fair, she does have her arm around me too). Oh, well, it wasn't I like I could complain...

Hiawatha

Summer, 2002.

My fahter at Hiawatha again. Another summer, another visit. Except this time it was just the men, the women and children had long since stopped going. But, I think that was okay with them, it meant more time to fish. Also, for my father, it meant more time to read.

Though, this picture might make you think otherwise, my father never actually fished while he was there. He admired the fish that the others caught, but he didn't do it himself. No, he stayed back and read, while the others went out on the boat, and just relaxed in the sun. His idea of the perfect vacation.

He looked forward to those few days a year. Away from work and the noise and confusion of every day life (and yes, of my mother and I). Days where he could relax in the sun in one of his favourite places with a good book, a few good friends, and maybe a fish or two.

Fishing Fun

Hiawatha, sometime in the late 80s.

We went to Hiawatha every year. It was one of my favourite places in the world and one of my favourite times of year.

Daddy loved it too, even more than I did. After all, it was a chance to be with his friends, even if he wasn't the biggest fan of the great outdoors. In this picture, he's showing off some fish he caught with Johnny and Jim Viaene (though I will state for the record that I'm sure Jim and Johnny did all the catching).

That's pretty much how I remember him always dressing. Cut-off jeans and a t-shirt with the arms cut off. He did that to all his shirts (and a couple of mine) much to my Mom's disgust. You couldn't convince him that wasn't really cool.

Still, fashion taste aside, he was having fun. But then, again, he always did...

Snack Time

Easter, 2002.

This is a pretty typical pose for my father and I--going for the food. We would always go straight for the munchies at any occasion. Or even some non-occasions. My father was always up for eating something good.

He loved his food. I think eating was one of his favourite things in the world. He always said that if he won the lottery, one of the things he'd do was make sure he never ran out of his favourite luxary foods.

He especially loved the food on special occasions, because that's when he got the really good stuff. Life his sister's cheeseballs or tarts.

He did love his food.

Kids on Rick...

This was taken sometime in the late 80s, not sure of the exact date...

Here's my father, buried under a pile of children. I'm the one front and center by the way, in the red.

My father probably actually didn't mind this. He loved kids, though this might have been a little much for him--as there are five of us and all under 5, I would guess.

Still, though I have no memory of this occasion, I can bet that he didn't protest too loudly when we all decided to pile on or near him.

I would have started it of course, being a) his child and b) the ringleader of the bunch. I would have climbed on his lap, followed by the twins and then Richard and Jenny would have climbed on where they are, and my father would probably have been laughing, even if at the point in the picture he does look a little overwhelmed.

It was one of the best things about my dad, he was fun and he liked kids and he knew how to relate to them--maybe because he never really stopped being a kid himself.

I just know that every kid I knew adored him. He was always a favourite amongst my school friends and the kids I grew up with and he seemed to like it. He enjoyed being the 'fun dad'.

Something New

Sometime in the early 80s...

The interesting thing about this picture is that until recently I'd never seen it. That said, I don't know a lot about it.

I'm not sure when it was taken, though I think it was taken at Grandma Meihm's place in Castleton and since my father has a calender in his hand, probably around Christmas time.

It's a pretty good picture of him. Relaxed, tearing into something new and interesting. I could imagine his interest in the calender, since it was a "Rock Star" calender, bound to peak his interest.

Daddy was like a kid in some ways, always eager to rip into his presents and play with them. He always wanted to open them quickly and then examinine once he'd shed the wrapping paper. It didn't matter waht the present was, a book, a cd, or a calender, if it was his, then he wanted to play with it.

So, though I don't know the full story behind this picture, I can imagine it...

Father and Son

Father and son.

This picture is taking sometime in the late 50s when my father was just a toddler and my grandfather was in his 40s.

My father was a late life baby, born on his father's 46th birthday. So they always shared that common birthday, even when they didn't share much else in common.

It wasn't as always between them as it is in this picture. Then, Grandpa is an indulgent father and Daddy is a toddler who seems to want his idependance.

Of course, children don't stay toddlers forever, but they always want their independance. And the older they get, it's not as easy to take their hand and help them along the way... That's a lesson my grandfather learnt the hard way...

One of Rick's Favourite Things

I'm not sure when this picture was taken, though I do where. Sort of. The picture was definitly taken at Jim's, but I think it was at the house in Colborne. Given that and just taking a general look, I'd assume this picture was taken around 1986. After I was born, for sure.

It's a pretty typical Rick picture. Rick partying, with a big bottle of booze in a hand. That's my Daddy for you. He always knew how to party, perhaps more than was good for him...

Life of the Party

New Year's Eve 90/91 (don't quote me on that).

A night of laughter, drinking and good friends. A typical night in my father's life.

We have this on video, actually, so even though I wasn't there (I was like 7), I have a good memory of that night.

Daddy was in true-Rick form. He was laughing and drinking and having a great time. And, of course, he was always at the side of his best friend. Here in this picture, there's Daddy dancing and having a good time, while Jim watches from the background with a grin on his face.

My father was the life of every party, that guy who never had a proble making a fool of himself. He always had a ready laugh and a grin for all. His favourite times were those spent with friends, when the music was loud and the alcohol flowed like water and everyone was having a good time.

21 Days

For the month of February, I'm going to try and blog a picture every day until the 21st, all pictures of my father, capturing differnet wonderful parts of his personality.

One of the things I was grateful for after his death was just how many pictures we had of him. The pictures made the loss easier. So much of him was captured in those pictures, and I look at them and I see him and I remember it all.

So, I thought for the next 21 days, I'd share that with whoever reads this blog. I thought I'd share my father with you...