Three Stories for Father’s Day

Photo credit: Salim Virji.

Photo credit: Salim Virji.

Happy (early) Father’s Day to all of the dads who read this blog.

I don’t blog about holidays like this every year, but I have some fun stories to share about my dad today.

Little Ones and Big Ones on Rye

Both of my parents were responsible for meals when I was a kid. Mom did more of the cooking and baking when I was little, but after she went back to college Dad started spending more time in the kitchen.

He had a few fast, inexpensive specialties when it was his time to cook. We ate a lot of egg bread and various types of rice + veggie or meat dishes.

No matter what he was making, though, his answer to our question about what we were having for lunch or dinner was the same: little ones and big ones on rye.

The funny thing is that I don’t remember him ever serving us rye bread, and none of us ever knew exactly what little ones and big ones were. I always imagined them to be sausage, though.

Maybe someday I’ll serve him rye bread with various types of sausage!

Black Ice.

The problem with scheduling exams in December in Ohio is that sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate. At all.

One year when I was in college, we had a nasty ice storm the day before my final exams. My school was a half-hour drive from home. A huge part of the drive took place on quiet, back country roads that weren’t always salted right away.

I was an okay driver, but that particular route on that particular day made me nervous. These were the kinds of roads that didn’t see a lot of traffic. If I’d gotten into an accident, it could have been a while before anyone noticed that I was in trouble. It (probably) would have been even longer before anyone drove by who had first aid training.

Enter Dad. It wasn’t strictly necessary for him to drive me to school that day, but I was so grateful for his help. It made me feel really safe.

Permanently Borrowing Aiden’s Toy.

My nephew, Aiden, was given so many toys as a baby that Dad decided he wouldn’t mind permanently sharing one.

It was a soft, baseball-shaped stuffed animal. Dad used it to prop up his laptop when he wanted to surf the web in his La-Z-Boy. It worked surprisingly well. The baby never even knew it was missing, but I quietly chuckled every time I saw Dad use it for the next few years.

What are some of your favourite memories of the fathers and father-figures in your life?

4 Comments

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4 Responses to Three Stories for Father’s Day

  1. Sarah B.

    I love the story about your dad cooking. My dad did something similar. He would cook something called Dad Surprise and it would be a stir fry of veggies, some kind of meat and rice. Must be a dad thing. 🙂

    One of my favorite memories is drinking coffee in the morning with my dad. We were the early risers in the family so we’d get up and drink coffee before everyone else got up.

    My dad and I also used to go grocery shopping together, and somehow we always ended up being in town right about lunchtime. 🙂 So we’d eat at this deli that made the best reuben sandwich I’ve ever eaten.

  2. tammy

    I love reading this. 🙂

  3. tammy

    Oh … Your grandma Schoch answered everyone “little ones and big ones on rye” when they asked her what was for supper. Your dad got that from her. My theory – she had 5 kids and got tired of all the questions about what she was making for the next meal, when she had just finished cleaning up from the prior meal …

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