A: Is that really a question?
Q: Not really...can you answer it anyway?
A: Well alright, as long as you admit it. Sure, I'll answer your non-question. (Anyone who's creeped out or disturbed by my talking to myself raise your hand now...)
My dad's a heating and air conditioning service man, so I remember going on "service calls" with him. Dad would drive his fire engine red truck to the house where he needed to repair things or talk to the people who live there, and he would always have cashews or corn nuts in little cans between the two front seats of the work truck. So of course I would snack on those while we were driving. I also remember playing with magnets that Dad kept on his glove box.
We would also visit Dad's friend in the suburbs. I would sit on the floor and try to coax any number of the eighty bajillion cats in the house to come and let me pet them or play with them, but because all cats seem to be afraid of small children, I never had much luck. I remember Dad's friend having a poster from "CATS" on the wall, and one time when we were over there, they were watching "CATS" on PBS. It was really a perfectly complete picture.
Usually when we were on our way home from a service call, sometimes just me and Dad or with my brother too, we would stop at 7-11 and Dad would get us Slurpees. It was tradition. We knew that if we went on a service call with Dad, we would get a Slurpee. It was an absolute certainty, and may or may not have been a big part of why we went on service calls. I remember mixing the Coca-cola flavor with the cherry, and sometimes getting whatever new and strange flavor that was there.
Once when Mom was out in California visiting her bestest best friend, Dad took us to Build-a-Bear. Now, I'm pretty sure we were a little old for Build-a-Bear, seeing as I might have been 15 at the time, making my brother 12, but we had an absolute blast. I made a wizard teddy bear and 15-year old Brianna was convinced that it would be a good idea to put one of those "noise boxes" in my teddy bear's leg, so every time I cuddle with my teddy bear and I roll over in just the right (or wrong) way...my bear will make magic noises. Depending on who's in the room, it can be either a wonderful conversation starter or really embarrassing.
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| Though I don't have a picture of "Magic," this bear's too cute to miss! Thank you, Google! |
And though I'm pretty sure that Dad and I don't have too much in common, I still love the guy because he has my best interests in mind. My junior year of high school, for Spring Break, Dad took me to Arizona. Just me. We hung out, Dad did work at the property that he owned down there, and we went to the zoo and a couple of other fun places. We also took a tour of Arizona State University, which I dragged my heels through the entire time, because I "wasn't interested in going there." We got a little lost when we were on our way to see ASU's production of "A Comedy of Errors," but it was a fantastic show, so it made up for it. Dad and Shakespeare apparently made a truce that night and Dad laughed along with me at all the best parts. I think that was my favorite outing with my dad. One can only hope there'll be more!
"It is a wise father that knows his own child."- William Shakespeare
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