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'.