On Father's Day, random thoughts of my Dad

My pops has been gone for three years. It's been rough. Lots of memories have been made without him here and it sucks. However, rather than wallow in sadness today, I want to share some of the things I remember of my Dad:

1. He had a great sense of humor and always had a joke waiting in the wings. 
2. He loved mushrooms...or "shrooms" as he said. I hate them.  
3. He would have killed someone to be a member of the Beatles. 
4. He was a rock star, was super talented, but he never made it "big." To us, though, he's in the rock and roll hall of fame.  
5. Watching him play "the claw" with his grandkids was awesome.  
6. His severed right index finger (work accident) became the prop for a don't pick your nose joke.  
7. His laugh was infectious.  
8. People really loved him and thought he was one of the few real stand up guys you could always count on.  
9. He wasn't perfect and battled with demons, but thru it all, his personality was always glass half full. 
10. He treated his Ovation guitar like some gear heads treat their collection of cars.  
11. He was the best and coolest scout leader and there are adults out there today who are great young men because of him. 
12. He was a talented artist and could draw anything.  
13. Math skills weren't a skill, but something naturally engrained in his brain.  
14. He could see a space and know the length and all the angles right away.  
15. No job was too tough, in fact, it was "ice cream." 
16. The Bruins was his team and the 2011 Stanley Cup one of the most gratifying things he ever experienced with his two sons. #TheClock
17. He was never a master of the grill. My brother or I always had to step in.  
18. Sledding in the blizzard of 78 was awesome.
19. Camping in NH was always quite the experience.  
20. Playing hoops with me and my friends positioned him as the cool Dad. 
21. He always used the bum finger as an excuse when he threw gutter balls while bowling.  
22. It only took my brother and I about 15 minutes of haggling before he'd take us to Child World to buy the latest Nintendo video game.  
23. He practiced with his band(s) constantly and I never truly appreciated it until he was gone.  
24. I could never beat him playing horseshoes but I could get him playing blongo.  
25. He loved rocking all white sneakers, jean shorts and sleeveless t-shirts during the summer. 
26. If Ford created a new explorer, he was there checking it out.  
27. His Wagoneer was THE ride back in the days.  
28. He had his own language with his brothers and cousins (a trait my brother and I carried on as we got older).  
29. He was always the life of the party at family reunions.  
30. He always brought the bottle of gold schlagger to said reunions. 
31. He wanted to play video games with us as we were kids but we always kicked his ass. 
32. When he thought he was done with raising young kids, he got remarried and had to rise two little girls; a stark contrast from two boys.  
33. He absolutely loved to fish. All year round. Loved it.  
34. He had such a profound impact on people that the line at his wake was a never ending stream of stories and find memories.  
35. He was my Dad. 

Happy Father's Day pops.