As expected, Father’s Day brought the usual stories about our dads, with most described as a cross between Ward Cleaver and Mr. Rogers.
But some of our fathers were a bit, uh, saltier…Â
Craig Cearnal, of Baton Rouge, says, “I enjoyed the Sunday feature in The Advocate about some of the phrases dads used back in the day.
“My dad had many wise and colorful sayings, so I tried thinking of some of the most memorable. Danged if I could come up with one that could be used in a family newspaper, though…”
Which reminds me
My favorite dad moment is one I’ve told about numerous times, but I still get a kick out of remembering my old man’s face.
At the ripe old age of 17 I had gotten a tattoo — just my first name, and high enough on my arm so a T-shirt sleeve hid it.
But one morning he caught me coming out of the shower, and said, “Boy, what is that on your arm?”
He listened patiently as I haltingly explained when and where I had gotten adorned.
Then he growled, “Boy, were you drunk when you got that?”
“No sir,” I assured him. “It was in the middle of the afternoon, after I’d been swimming.”
He swore, and exclaimed: “I’d rather you be drunk than STUPID!”
Dangerously warm
“Since when did 98 degrees become ‘warm’?, asks Jim Firnberg, this column’s unpaid weather analyst:
“Monday’s Baton Rouge Advocate indicated that the high was to be 98 degrees, but the description said that today’s weather would be ‘Warm and humid with some sun.’
“What a relief from the hot weather that we have been experiencing!”
Down Memory Lane
Sydney Belle Lejeune Griffin says, “Speaking of service stations, in the ’50s my friends and I would buy 25 cents of gas at Swenson and Joiner’s, run by two handsome young men on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.
“We’d stop at Bel-Air Restaurant, buy cold drinks, and drag the ‘Gold Coast’ in my 1946 Ford coupe.
“Along with the full services provided back then, we were presented with a deck of Swenson and Joiner’s playing cards with our purchase.
“Thanks for bringing up such good memories!”
It’s all math
Redean Parsons, of St. Francisville, responds to those who pointed out that the formula she used to solve a sewing problem, told about in the Saturday column, was geometry, not algebra, as she had stated:
“I wondered how quickly someone would correct me. Hahaha!
“I’m thinking they missed the point.
“Since I took both geometry and algebra, just remembering the formula at my age (88) and making use of it is a blessing!”
(You said it, Redean! I’m not quite 88, and I don’t remember what I had for breakfast.)
Hack that!
Speaking of math, you’ll have to know at least a little of it to get this story by Roger Waggoner, of Lafayette:
He says the recent discussion of cyber security reminds him:
“A few years ago my wife gave me a T-shirt which says, ‘My Password Is the Last 8 Digits of Pi.’
“That should keep potential hackers at bay.”
For her eyes only
Nancy Stich, of Baton Rouge, says, “I thoroughly enjoyed the contribution in the Monday column about the computer hack of the OMV, from Glenn Balentine.
“Does anyone’s weight on their driver’s license match their real weight? I don’t know.
“Recently, my husband and I have been eating carefully and losing some weight. He asked me if I was finally going to tell him how much I weigh.
“I looked at him in all seriousness and told him, ‘There is only one other person who knows how much I weigh, and that’s my doctor — and I’m not even sure he needs to know!’
“Some things are best kept secret.”
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