Tomorrow being Father’s Day and me being offline tomorrow I thought I’d post something about my own beloved dad – David O. Millard.
This was his high school graduation picture, circa 1949. Handsome wasn’t he. He was quite the ladies’ man in high school, at least if all the signatures in his yearbook are any indication. And yes I do have his high school yearbook; it’s one of my favorite things.
He was an amazing father – fun, loving, great provider. Stern when he had to be. He gave me a blueprint for life that I have followed for 49 years and which has stood me in good stead.
Be honest. Treat people fairly. Be ethical in every aspect of your life. Love God. Have fun. Indulge when appropriate.
In fact, Lex reminded me of my dad in so many ways. His erudition, how incredibly well-read he was, Lex’s leadership style, the way he spoke of his children. I believe if they had ever met in life they’d have been fast friends. I can hear my dad saying “That Lex is a cool dude.” And I know that Lex would have felt the same way.
My dad died in 1995 at age 63 and I have missed him every day since. I truly believe that Lex and my dad have hooked up in the pearly skies to educate each other … My dad teaching Lex about American muscle cars and Lex showing my dad what wings can do.
I pity the angels. 
Kris – when you told me that your Dad had both a Shelby GT350 and a GT500 – and taught his daughter how to drive them – I knew he was a cool dude!
63….way too early, we was robbed
and a great taste in cars.
HD – it was too early. He had so many plans for post-retirement (after he sold his business). He never got to see any of it which makes me so sad and has been cause for some of the “large living” that The Oracle and I indulge in as often as possible.
BB – he was very cool. Stylish, smooth, sophisticated when he had to be and he knew always when he didn’t need to be. And the cars – Oh Bill if you only knew that the Shelby’s were the pinnacle of a very huge iceberg. There were other Mustangs that were his regular drives, there were BMWs too. And antiques – real classic stuff. 1934 Ford Cabriolet w/rumbleseat, a 1939 Merc, 1939 (IIRC) Mercedes, 1940 Ford Convertible…the list is endless. And he shared with his children: my first car was a 1973 Cougar Convertible with a custom 351 Cleveland engine. GRRROWWWL.
A nice reminiscence, Kris, and just perfect for tomorrow.
Kris … Your Dad and mine sound pretty similar. One of the first things which impressed me about Lex, was a posting he made about Sunday dinners at his house, where they always had guests, friends of SNO, and he moderated the long and fascinating conversations, making them a truly “teachable moment.”
My Dad did this too, more or less every night,, to find out what my brother and I were experiencing and what help we needed. {Once a teacher, always a teacher, even if he was a banker at the time.}
My brother and I read omnivorously, and not always appropriately. This was just before our country got into the Second World War and we both read Jan Valtin’s Out of the Night and Rex, my brother read Mein Kampf. It was a textbook example of how Hitler appealed to the young teens with his tawdry plans. It was the only time I ever saw my father lose his cool, teaching approach and become angry, but he, my Dad, had already traveled the world and taught in China at Shanghai Baptist College which later became Shanghai University. He didn’t stay there long, because the war clouds were gathering here at home, so he came home to enlist. He felt quite passionately that Hitler was an evil man, and that he was a danger to the whole Western world, which of course he was. I think that he and my mother knew that we would be involved in support of our British cousins, and if we were, that my brother would volunteer for the military.
At any rate, that’s the atmosphere I grew up in, so I come by my interest in politics honestly. When Lex talked about those Sunday dinners, and the young friends of his children who joined in the talking and occasional scrapping, it brought my Dad back to me so vividly.
I still miss him…
Marianne
Marianne – I think your dad may have been reincarnated into mine. I well remember Lex’s posts about the Sunday dinners and they always brought back all of our family dinners. Daddy always wanting to know what we were reading in school, what our teachers had to say – and then open discussion about those things and whatever else we had seen or heard.
My dad was also obssessive about WWII. Born in 1931 he grew up during that era and I don’t think the privations, sacrifices and the things he saw during that time ever truly left him.
I miss those dinners. And I miss my dad.
Kris, what a wonderful and heartfelt tribute to your father. You have obviously learned much from him which is the ultimate honor you could bestow on a parent. I know today is bittersweet; as it is for me, but thank you for sharing your words (and love) with us about your father. He is no doubt looking down on you and smiling.