Sandisk Slot Radio Giveaway

I've had ads for the Sandisk Slot Radio running on this site for a week or so. Sandisk sent me a slot radio to try out...it's kind of exactly my speed. Preloaded with music (because I am really not wild about searching out new music) or if I'd prefer, I can add my favorite music to it.....perfect.

The slotRadio™ player is a small, stylish, portable music device that comes bundled with a slotRadio™ card preloaded with 1,000 handpicked songs featuring artists from Billboard®'s charts, and professionally arranged into a variety of genre-themed playlists.

The die-cast aluminum player also features a 1.5” OLED screen for viewing artist and song information, a FM radio and even an integrated, handy belt clip for hands-free listening.

Additional 1,000 song, genre-specific and themed slotRadio™ cards. Digital music has never been this easy – just feast your ears!

Sandisk gave me a few of these slot radios to give away and I get to give the first one away this Friday, just in time for Father's Day.

I have this problem with Father's Day in that it's one of those days that tweaks the part of me that is pretty sad/mad/disappointed that I had such a monster as a father. Yes, I'm one of those people...with father issues. sigh.

While brainstorming what I could do for this contest Logan and I thought it would be fun to have you guys share a dad-related memory in the comments, but then Logan said, "You have to share one too....that's rude to expect people to share when you don't." But my dad memories all suck and this will turn into a big Sad Trombone festival, so let's just skip mine.

However, I'd like to hear your favorite father memory in the comments. A most embarrassing moment, a favorite gag your father liked to pull, the best gift you ever gave him for father's day, why your husband is a great dad. Anything goes...well, within the rules. 

Good stories about dads make me really happy.

You can enter until 12am EST Friday June 12. The winner will be selected randomly from the entries and announced later that day.

Comments

[mcconk]

I just saw my dad last weekend. His favorite thing to do is to buy everyone dinner in a restaurant. Usually a chain thing like Applebee's or something; it just makes him happy to be able to spend money on his grown kids and grandkids. He grew up very poor, and I think it still freaks him out that he has enough money. He's always been VERY frugal; the fact that he now likes to go out and spend a bunch on us makes it a real treat for him.

[Krista]

Melissa, not to turn this into a "sad trombone" sort of deal, but I share your "dad issues", except with my mother - and by virtue of her marriages - with many of my step fathers. Luckily I had an amazing father. I don't even know that there are words to describe how amazing and supportive my father is. I am 34 years old and my father calls me sometimes just to tell me how proud he is of the woman I have grown up to be, and really - what better feeling is there than to have someone tell you that they are proud of you?

[liz]

Wow - I'd love one. I might share it with my husband...might....

[Colleen]

My dads favorite saying "if I knew I would love my grandchildren this much, I would of had them first" LOL LOL he's the B E S T!

[Lisa P]

We were celebrating the fourth of July at the cabin when I was about 10. My mom had brought a pinata and when it was my turn, I didn't wait long enough to start swinging and I knocked my dad out cold. He still speaks to me.

[Stephanie]

I grew up in WI, but I have lived in London for the past 4 years. I'm currently back home in WI because I accidentally let my visa expire and am in the process of applying for a new one.
I was devastated over being 'forced' to leave my husband, friends, job in London.
My dad picked me up at the airport with a bouquet of flowers and waited patiently while I cried on his shoulder.

[samantha jo campen]

Well, uh, not to be a downer but my dad died when I was three, so I just know STORIES of what he liked to do. Apparently his proudest accomplishment from when I was little was putting my hair in perfect pigtails while my mom was gone for the weekend :-)

[Jenny]

We are currently living with my dad, as my husband is serving in Afghanistan, and as awkward as I thought it was going to be, moving home with four kids after 12 years, my dad has been awesome! He has been a rock for my children and I. I see him teaching them the same things he taught me, and it is a fantastic feeling!

[Hippittee]

When I was 4 or 5...my dad had me convinced that I could roll down the windows of the car by wiggling my nose - bewitched style. Of course, he was watching in the rear view window and using the auto controls to move them up and down. I didn't see my father that frequently after that, so it's one of the few memories I have of him...and also one of my favorite.

[Sarah B]

My dad used to do everything in his power to embarrass me. When I was a kid and my mom was out of town he would have to drive me to school in his huge box work truck. I was already embarrassed that I had to ride in it, but as he was driving away he would ALWAYS honk and wave. This continued until I was old enough to drive myself to school. My mom was completely unaware of this until about 2 years ago when we were talking about it at dinner. She thought it was so funny her drink came out of her nose! Embarrassment aside my dad rocks!

[Lisa]

There is nothing better than scaring the crap out of your children. At least, that was what my dad believed. He would pull up his black turtleneck to cover his mouth, get down on his hands and knees and chase us around the house. The kicker? He would turn his eyelids inside out so it looked like his eyes had been ripped out. It was TERRIFYING. And of course, we loved it.

[christy]

I was brought home from the hospital to my waiting parents by a lawyer (I was adopted in the '70s, things were different then) and when the lawyer handed me to my dad he said:

"Her eyes are open!"

Apparently he thought human babies were like newborn kittens whose eyes don't open for a few days. I am surprised the lawyer didn't take me right back.

It seems a little dim, but my dad is easily the smartest person I know, and he never fails to still find some wonder in the world.

[Ryan s]

My Dad still, for no real reason, walk's around in a Gorilla costume from time to time.

[Lisa]

My dad is a retired a deputy sheriff; a true hardass and I am exactly like him in personality. When I was a teenager, I didn't appreciate his life lessons, but looking back I can't thank him enough. He acts tough but he would give a perfect stranger the shirt off his back. He taught his two daughters well and even though life sometimes hits us between the eyes, we learned to hit back thanks to my Dad.

[Reilly]

Will you send to Oz? If not, it doesn't matter because it's my Dad's Birthday tomorrow (11 June). He died when I was only 27 (19 years ago) and I still miss him. So in honour of his Birthday this is my favourite story:

He had a saying as I was growing up whenever I was really trying his patience or he was trying to tease me into a hissy fit. I don't remember what age I was when it first came into my memory (maybe 10?) but I do remember that it seemed to be an 'adults' saying. That is, whenever he said it in company, everyone laughed even though I didn't get the joke. It just seemed to be 'Dad's joke' even though it didn't make sense to me.

At about age 12 though, he said it one time and I just looked at him, mouth agape, and said "Dad!" He never said it again.

You have to know that I'm only about 150cm (5 foot) tall. And what did he say? What did I work out when I finally got the concept of 'the birds and bees' straight in my head?

"I'm so glad you made 5 feet (tall) because anything under 5 feet wasn't worth the effort in the first place."

[abi]

My favorite dad memory happened two weeks ago when we took a family trip to visit my folks. My dad is an addict who is now in recovery, and when we visited my dad and I had a huge heart-to-heart that was very healing. I have a great therapist who is helping me move on from my own Daddy Issues, but I feel really, really lucky that he's at a point where we can talk through some of these things together now too.

[Karianna]

My dad had his appendix out when I was three. When we visited him in the hospital, I asked my mom, "Is this where we're going to pick out my new daddy?"

My dad is the one who convinced me that I should give my Secret Santa a toilet bowl plunger for the "final gift" (with a tartan bow around it, naturally!)

He just gave my husband a talking Obama doll for his birthday this past weekend.

Yeah, I love the dude.

[Christine]

I could definitely be a member of the Sad Trombone Gang but I have a couple of good memories from before things got too bad. When I was about five, during the summer, my dad took my best friend and I to the store for a coke (small glass bottle - nostalgia!)and a treat nearly every day. Doesn't sound like much, but it made the 5 y.o. me very happy.

[brooke]

My dad once told me that I could buy whatever I wanted if I ate a sandwich before we went shopping. I ate the sandwich, and promptly picked out a brand new bike. He then asked me if I brought my money. After all, he did say that "I" could buy whatever I wanted. I still give him crap about that one!

[Michelle]

My dad used to build us cardboard castles in our basement out of old refrigerator-sized boxes he brought home from work (at G.E.). We had a whole neighborhood--big ones, small ones, doors, windows with shutters, treasure coins carved from scraps of the cut-outs.
Magic made with a box cutter, tape, and a permanent marker. Great lesson that imagination is the most important weapon in the parenting arsenal.

[Jesse]

best would be when he spent all day building a toboggan run with my brother, sister, and I. The sides were higher than our heads and it was looong. It lasted all winter and all of our friends and cousins would come over and sled with us.

embarassing would have been in jr. high I missed the bus to school and dad had to give me a ride.....in his logging truck.

[jc]

It took a while, but I came up with one....
My parents divorced when I was very young. When my dad would pick us up on the weekends he would take us to play at a park. He would sit under the same giant tree every time and watch us play until the ice cream man arrived. Then we'd all sit together under the tree and talk while we ate our ice cream.

[Linda N.]

My dad gives the best hugs and I love watching him with my kids.

[Ricki]

My parents divorced when I was 5 years old, so I don't have many day to day memories of him, just the occasional visit after that. But he was a photographer, and he had a darkroom behind the carport in our house. I remember sitting on a stool in the darkroom and the scent of developing fluids is still etched on my brain. It would be dark, with only a blacklight so we could watch the pictures develop, magically to my 5 year old mind. This is one of my earliest and best memories of my dad, who passed away 5 years ago this summer.

[Anne]

When I was little I remember going to see my Dad play in his band. It was either Monday or Tuesday nights my parents deemed safe and quiet enough to bring a little kid to the bar where he played. I would stand on the dance floor right in front of my Daddy and alternate staring up at him, eyes wide with adoration, and watching myself dance in the mirror on the wall to the left of the stage. I would be dancing away with my little four-year-old dance skillz and he would look down at me and smile as I grinned up at him, thrilled to be there watching him play. My Mom said that he always played guitar with his eyes closed unless I was there, dancing to some combination of what the band was playing and the music in my own head. Even though a few decades have passed since he graduated college and left the band, the pictures in my head from that time are clear as day. When I'm 95 and sitting in a rocking chair on some futuristic front-porch, this is how I'll remember him. Except his eyes will be open, smiling back at me.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3371/3614162832_a9d841fe2b.jpg
(My Dad is the one on the right)

[stephanie]

Well. My Dad. Kenneth W. Erickson. 72 Years old this year, six children, still working past retirement and drives a harley. He is one of the most interesting and intellegent people I have ever had to pleasure of knowing. My story is not really a memory because I was much too young to remember but it is a favorite story he loves to tell. 1971 I was 2 years old. My mom and dad loved taking the six of us camping. So, on the last night of a two week camping trip..Everyone was tired and ready to go home. It was late and my brothers had to go to the bathroom. My dad just had them pee in an empty milk carton (there was no bathroom in the camper and the port a johns were too far out and it was late) Well. I (2yrs old) was sleeping in between my parents and woke up...Started crawling around. found the milk jug and started shaking it like a rattle. Got pee all over the camper. the blankets. clothes and of course everyone. Needless to say it was a long trip home for everyone. My parents did the best to clean up and give everyone a change of clothes (not clean as we'd been camping for a while) But when my dad tells that story it is with his chest puffed out in pride. Then he laughs. Love you Dad!

[Sheila H.]

When I was in 5th grade we had a class book club (so cool, ha) and for one of our first meetings our parents were invited. My teacher went around and asked each parent to introduce themselves and say 2 things about themselves. Each parent said things like "Hi I'm Tom. I'm an accountant and I like baseball." Boring stuff. When it was my dad's turn he said "Hi, my name is J. I like kung fu and I believe in aliens." I was mortified!! 1) I am Asian and growing up in an all white school made me the target of stupid questions like "Do you know kung fu?" 2) The boy who everyone picked on in our class looked at my dad after the alien comment and said "Me too!"

When we were talking about embarrassing "Dad" moments (and there were a lot!) with my family a few years ago, I told my dad how embarrassed I was that day. He had no comment for the kung fu comment except "What? I do like kung fu!" As for the alien comment, he said he said that because when he walked into my class he saw the awkward boy telling some kids in my class that he believed in aliens and saw how everyone picked on him. He decided to say he believed in aliens too to make the boy feel better and let him know that it was ok to be different. I love my dad!

[Jen]

My dad was one of those guys who liked to make sure that we kids appreciated all that we had. When we were on a family vacation to San Diego, my dad decided that it would be a good idea to cross the border into Mexico and visit Tiajuana. Apparently on this trip, my sister and I (about 8 and 11, respectively) were acting up a bit, fighting, complaining about the long drives...typical kids-on-a-vacation-havoc.

His idea was that we would cross the border and see how people who didn't have as much lived. The goal was to make us appreciate this "gosh darned vacation" once and for all!

We went across the border, and instantly I was afraid. There were taxi drivers yelling at us, kids roaming the streets. Let's just say that the detour across the border had the desired effect. I don't think I had ever held my dad's hand so tight in my life.

When we were getting ready to walk back across the border to California, we were stopped. A man asked us to come inside to the office above the street. My parents were separated from my sister and I by just a few feet, but I was nervous. They asked my sister and I if, "that man is related to you", "is he your real dad", "did you meet him in Mexico"? It was scary and my dad looked rather nervous. See, my dad is a very dark-skinned Italian man with black hair and a black mustache. Apparently, they "racially profiled" him as we went across the border and were concerned he was trying to enter the country illegally! :) My dad's fate was now in his little girls' hands...the same girls who were admonished for not appreciating this vacation. The tables had turned, and I realized that my answers would make the difference in whether my dad had to go through extensive questioning to be let BACK into the US!

Needless to say, I felt a little bit of a power-trip at that point! Of course, I told the border agents the truth and that he *was* my dad and his identity checked out just fine. But even 25 years later, we still look back on that incident as the time that my dad's plan to teach us a lesson, nearly taught him one as well! We always laugh about it because the kids had the upper hand! :)

[ella]

In 1964 as my mom recovered from what I can only imagine was a very difficult labor and delivery (I was born breach and not by cesarian) my dad sat by her side waiting for her to wake. THey gave mom's general anesthesia back then you know.
Mom still groggy looked at my dad and asked boy or girl? My dad with tears in his eyes said "it's a girl and she has blue eyes."

[Amy D.]

I've been going through a difficult time of transition this spring, deciding to go back to school and uproot my whole family, move to another state, etc. It's been very difficult. My dad is usually one to offer very practical advice, like what kind of motor oil to buy, or how to fix a squeaky door hinge. This time however, he really came through. To give some context, I have three childless siblings who've gone on lots of wild and exotic adventures, where I've always chosen a more stable, traditional path. Here was his advice to me:
"It sounds like you're getting lots of support and love from your brother and sisters (and B-in-Law).

My earlier e-mail probably sounded a little cold - focusing on transmission reliability - but it wasn't meant to be.

You're still my baby, and I'm anxious and afraid of the difficulty in what you're about to undertake. If I had my way, you'd probably still be riding around the cul-de-sac with training wheels. But, meanwhile, life is happening. And you're too smart and capable to sit and let it pass by, only to wonder years from now whether you could have pulled it off.

So, here's to YOUR semester in Argentina and Australia, YOUR bike trip across the country, YOUR trip on the trans-Siberian railroad. If you go for it, you'll be in our prayers every day, even though my heart's in my throat watching you wobble off down the hill, wondering if I should have left the training wheels on.

Go get'm tiger."

My dad is awesome.

[Melanie]

I have a lot of funny memories of my dad (now deceased), but since I'm currently dieting (again), here's one of my favorite.

Years ago I was on Weight Watchers, and had bought a bottle of WW salad dressing that was only two calories per serving. I had raved about it and convinced myself it was good so long that Dad finally tried it one day.

He chewed and chewed on his only bite of salad, processing his thoughts, before finally declaring, "Yep, I taste both of 'em."

It still makes me giggle today when I read the low-calorie packages in the store.

[aimee]

My dad is the best. The best! The amazing thing is that his dad died when he was 6 and his mom never remarried so I often am amazed that he is such an amazing father even though he never really knew a father himself.

[Erin]

My dad did this awesome thing when my sibs and I were little where he left the room after story time and then came back a few minutes later as the "Robot Tuckeriner". He made all the right robot sounds and walked kind of like a robot zombie when he came into the room. Then he would pick us up as we laughed hysterically and tuck us into bed upside down with our feet on the pillow.

We would be squealing with delight when he left the room as the robot and returned as Dad to discover us upside down. That is when he would ask us why on earth we were in bed backwards and re-tuck us in the right way. We would try so hard to explain that the robot did it but he would never believe us.

It is one of my favourite childhood memories and one that my siblings and I talk about every Fathers Day.

[Mitzi]

My husband is a great dad. We have 2 girls - ages almost 6 and 3 1/2. Last weekend I hosted a birthday luncheon for my mother so my husband took the girls to a kids fishing rodeo for the morning. They came back home just in time to see my mom's friends and show off the trophy my 3 year old got for winning "Youngest fisherman". How precious! Not to mention he just had back surgery 2 week prior. He's so precious to us.

[Susan]

When we were kids, my dad used to like to ride a bicycle backwards in our front yard. You know, sit on the handlebars, facing backwards, and peddle in the reverse direction. We were quite impressed of course. I think my folks still have 8mm movies of that feat.

[kelly]

My poor dad - he used to take me out goose hunting with him as "bonding time." He'd wake me at 3:30 am and we would bundle up and he'd drive an hour outside of Houston to the field he had rented. He would walk around the rice field carefully placing the decoys to lure in the geese while I tried to help. Then just as the sun was lifting over the horizon and we had settled into the camouflaged hole in the ground to wait for geese... I would have to go to potty. And not outdoors. My dad would hastily grab all of the decoys, speed over to IHOP and we would eat breakfast with hot chocolate before driving home. The geese - they loved me.

[Carrie at Rhubarb Sky]

I too mostly have "sad trombone" dad memories (how about the time I called my dad after the divorce to hang out when I was 12 and he told me that he had a new family and I needed to move on too, or later, when I drove my second step-dad to rehab and that Pearl Jam song with the lyrics "don't call me daughter" came on the radio, . . .um, sad trombone, all the way).

But, I did spend nearly every Saturday of my 16th year working on a 1971 Karmann Ghia with my (second)dad. It was my 16th birthday gift and he was too, um, well, fat to fit underneath the thing. So, he'd send me under and tell me to remove such and such part and I would and often, it was the wrong piece and I'd have to go put it back and try again. I redid the entire electrical system of that car, learned how to change the oil, the tires, and the windshield wipers. Best gift ever.

[Shawnna]

Lets start a sad trombone band!
I don't have very many funny, great, fantastic memories of my dad. But one that I will always treasure is... When I was little I had to be admitted to Riley Childrens Hospital on a semi-regular basis. While there my dad would take me see the carousel horses.

[Becky]

I'm a member of the Sad Trombone Gang, too, but something this week brought back a fond memory of my step-dad. He was a runner and every weekend when he'd do his "long" run, I'd ride my bike along with him. Even into my young adult years. We'd have good talks during those times!

[Amy]

My dad passed away when I was about 13... but I very vividly remember having lengthy discussions about the value of good credit and savings before he passed away. He also made sure that my sister and I would know how to drive a stick shift... just in case! He was quite the amazing man - and VERY logical.

15 years later it still cracks credit was so important to him --- and now is to me!

[Calee]

Growing up, we lived about a half hour away from anywhere and most of the time my dad drove me to high school (we left the house at 6:05 am, ack). We nearly always used that time for fabulous conversation about philosophy, history and current events.
I think the trend was set several years before when my dad mentioned something about world war 2 and I asked "so I know why we fought in the second world war, what about the first?" If memory serves me right, my dad carefully explained the causes of the war all the way home from the amusement park Knott's Berry farm.
He always taken my questions seriously and is still one of my favorite people to talk to.

[Kate K]

After having my nephews over last Christmas for some cookie decorating, my dad took the multiple colors of leftover cookie dough and mashed them together to make brown (unbeknownst to me). I was visiting from college and had my dog with me. He strategically placed a cookie dough turd on the floor and blamed my dog for pooping in the house. I said, “No way!! My dog doesn’t DO that! It had to have been your dog (who in known to do such things).” He got up from his chair, went over to the brown turn and said, “Well, there is only one way to find out whose poop it is…” He ate the poop. A. T.E. the P.O.O.P.!!!! My mouth was wide in disbelief. I was laughing in hysteria and crying in horror at the same time. It was the weirdest emotion I’ve ever experienced. My family let me in on the secret when I started gagging…. Joke’s on me…

My dad has been making me laugh my whole life. The smiles in life are what make it worth living. Thanks, Dad!

[ailo]

I grew up dreaming of waking up one day with the ability to speak to animals. I was sure it COULD happen. My dad seemed to have that ability - animals loved him, would always come up to him to say hello hang around. I thought that maybe it was a genetic trait, but I had to wait to grow into it. Unfortunately for me it hasn't happened yet, I seem to like them more than they seem to like me, but watching my dad with animals is one of my favorite memories. Seeing my hero melt and care for a kitten or a squirrel gave me a standard for the compassion I look for in friends.

[Amy]

when i was 4 my mum was in the hospital after having my brother so it was my dad and I at home...he let me wear my frilly Easter dress to school-- sandals and all.....it was winter.

[Bird]

My dad calls nearly every day to "ask about the weather." I live 50 minutes south of him but he acts like I live 400 miles away! If it's raining or cold in Arlington, there must be a blizzard going on in Stafford. I live SOUTH, Dad! I love it though and if,by chance, he "forgets" to call (he is in his late 70's), I call him anyhow. Sometimes I get annoyed (because if I don't answer - I am busy sometimes - he'll hang up and redial until I do in lieu of a message) but I know I'll miss them when he's gone.

[kellie]

Well, I was four year-old and we were at a church christmas talent show. It was a pretty big church and there were a lot of "acts" going on. Well, one of the acts dressed up in baseball uniforms and did some kind of skit. I don't really remember what it was, but I do remember that people in the audience threw boxes of cracker jacks up on the stage.

I wanted one of those boxes because I wanted the prize inside. I looked at my parents and said I wanted to get one. They said I couldn't since I wasn't performing. So, I said I would perform and I would sing "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" from my most favorite movie EVER. They talked to someone and it was agreed that I could be squeezed in between a few performers.

As I was getting ready to walk out, I got scared and didn't want to do it. My dad was backstage with me and said he would come out with me and he would play Sandy, Annie's dog.

I walked out onto the huge stage and stood at the mic they had set up. My father walked out behind me, on his hands and knees, panting like a dog and stayed next to me the whole song pretending to act like a dog.

I sang my song and when I was done, I turned around, grabbed a box of cracker jacks and ran off.

As an adult with two kids, I cannot believe how my dad committed to his "role." lol. He panted and barked through out my song and made me feel safe. He looked like a jack-ass I'm sure, but I needed him there and he was.

[Julie]

My dad retired from his job about 10 years ago, when I was 27. He worked for the State as an accountant for 33 years. I obviously knew that he worked, as I saw him going to work every day and he provided for us growing up, etc. But, it was so weird at his retirement party, listening to his co-workers talk about him at work, or people who worked under him, talking about confrontations with him. He was obviously very good at what he did, but to me, he was just my dad, the guy who never missed any of my tennis matches, never missed any of my concerts, was there when I moved away for my first job, was there for everything.

[Peeved Michelle]

My dad was pretty crap, too, but for my birthday one year, maybe close to junior high, he bought me a used bike for my birthday and completely refurbished it. That was pretty nice.

My step-dad is a lot better. He is the one who walked me down the aisle when I got married, not my dad.

[Kendra]

When I was about 7, my dad tossed a little rubber football at me and suggested we play catch--in the house! I patiently reminded him that mom would be none too happy if something got broken. He assured me that all would be well... So I threw a perfect spiral with the tiny football. And he missed it. It crashed into one of my mom's crystal wine glasses and broke the stem off. As my mom came into the room to see what the commotion was, I took off for my room, yelling, "Daddy did it!" over my shoulder.

My mom still doesn't think this is funny. My dad and I think it's a riot.

[Kate K (East Lansing!!)]

After having my nephews over last Christmas for some cookie decorating, my dad took the multiple colors of leftover cookie dough and mashed them together to make brown (unbeknownst to me). I was visiting from college and had my dog with me. He strategically placed a cookie dough turd on the floor and blamed my dog for pooping in the house. I said, “No way!! My dog doesn’t DO that! It had to have been your dog (who in known to do such things).” He got up from his chair, went over to the brown turn and said, “Well, there is only one way to find out whose poop it is…” He ate the poop. A. T.E. the P.O.O.P.!!!! My mouth was wide in disbelief. I was laughing in hysteria and crying in horror at the same time. It was the weirdest emotion I’ve ever experienced. My family let me in on the secret when I started gagging…. Joke’s on me…

My dad has been making me laugh my whole life. The smiles in life are what make it worth living. Thanks, Dad!

[NYCrystal]

My dad is a Mexican immigrant and has worked in various restaurant kitchens for more than 25 years. I remember when my brother and I were small, once in a blue moon we would call him and ask him to bring home burgers for us. Now, where he worked at the time it was an american fare type restaurant but the burgers were HUGE served with Muenster cheese and leafy lettuce. When he would get home at about 1am my mom would wake us up and we would eat cold burgers with cold fries and I can still taste them now...I don't think I'll ever forget that flavor. It was such a treat and a great memory!

[Tracey]

When I had my first baby, my parents lived on an island across Puget Sound from me. My dad came over many times to help during the day, and one time while I was napping, he prepared a gorgeous feast for us, including fabulous wine, and set it all out, and then slipped out the door unnoticed, and took a bus and ferry boat to get home (didn't want to trouble us for a ride). He's a sweetie.

[Shanna]

I remember a couple of particularly sweet moments - once before a middle-school dance, he twirled me around the living room, teaching me how to dance (not particularly useful, since all 7th graders do is the hug-and-sway, but still). In high school I got into some boy trouble and he became the parent I could talk to (while my mom was understandably furious). And at my wedding, he choked up during his toast, which I suppose lots of dads do, but it was still sweet.

[Kristina]

I am blessed with the world's best dad and husband. I could go on forever with wonderful stories about them. But my favorite dad story is about my little brother. He became a father unexpectedly at age 18. He stepped right up to the plate, and was the world's best dad. He spent every free moment he could with T, and they just adored each other.

My brother was killed in a car accident when T was just 18 months old. Needless to say, we were devastated, most of all for T who would never have the opportunity to know how exceptional his daddy was. But just days after he died, T started talking to Daddy. All of the time. He would point to empty space and say "Daddy here!" or "Hi Daddy!" T would have "conversations" an empty chair for minutes, and when he was done would say "Bye Daddy!" He would even play their favorite game just like my brother was right there playing with him.

I'm not one to necessarily believe in stuff like this, but I know that if he could, my brother would find a way to continue to spend time with his son. I guess love that strong breaks all barriers. I love you Nate, Happy Daddy's Day.

[heather]

I have a wonderful dad - growing up he was the one that coached our teams and told embarssaing jokes and all my friends loved him. But he wasn't the type to tell you how he felt. My second week of my freshman year in college, I found a letter from my dad in my mailbox. It is still the best letter I have ever gotten - full of advice and how much he loves me. I remember sitting in the cafeteria crying and feeling very loved. I still have the letter and read it from time to time and am always grateful for the father I have.

[Jenn @ Juggling Life]

I don't usually do the linky thing in comments, but this just fits too well. Though I guess happy is not the best word to describe it.

http://jugglinglife.typepad.com/juggling_life/2009/06/about-my-dad.html

I would love to have someone else pick my music.

[Carrie]

My dad was a salesman, working mostly on commission. On payday, he'd get his check cashed, and he'd bring it home in a wad of bills, which he'd hand to my brother and me, one at a time, to have us carry them across the room to Mom. We loved it, and it was hysterical how what, in hindsight, was probably not a whole lot of money, felt like a fortune to us when it was celebrated like that. :-)

[Dawn]

My dad wasn't a bad person, just not a very good father. He did what he could as the person he was. He passed away 2 years ago and I do miss him.

My husband is the father I always wished I had. Every time I see him with our girls I love him just a little bit more.

[Penny]

My Dad is 88 years old and the older he gets the better his stories get. He tells stories about his years in the service during WWll. he remembers all the details and they get funnier every year. He is a great funny old guy!

[Kermit]

My dad just spent a week driving across the country to bring me an old car he and mom didn't want or need anymore. When it failed emissions, he paid for the new gas cap and the retesting. Then, he entertained my kids in the DMV parking lot for 45 minutes while I took care of all the paperwork. That night, he took me out to one of the best dinners I've ever eaten and then we saw Star Trek.

Simple and normal...and the best memories.

[Kelly H]

My favorite Dad memory would be listening to him sing along to Elvis in the car.

When I was young, we only had one car. My mother would take the bus to work and after my sister and I were home from school, my dad would take us in the car to pick up my mother from her office downtown. We would often have to wait 15-30 minutes in the parking lot for her to wind things up and come outside. That old car (an orange Pinto!) had a tape deck that he kept stocked with old Elvis tapes. He'd sing along at the top of his lungs and try to teach us the words to Jailhouse Rock.

Things were not always fun with my dad and when they were not, I tried to remember how fun he was during those times hanging in the car rockin' it out to The King.

[Lara in South Riding, VA]

My parents divorced when I was two, so I don't have any memories of that version of our family. My step-father, though, what a guy. He has been a "real" father to me, and seeing him with my own kids warms my heart. And I am so fortunate to have a husband who's a wonderful father, I don't know that I deserve him. Here's to good dads!

[FunnyGal KAT]

My dad is notoriously cheap... and also makes us leave waaay too early whenever we travel. Which is how we ended up getting to my cousin's wedding two hours before it began and how we came to fill our time by shopping at a tag sale (we were the dressiest of all the shoppers!). Which naturally led to us showing up to the church with a table and six chairs piled into the back of the truck. We looked like we were not only there to help my cousin celebrate her marriage, but to help her move into her fiance's home afterward!

[Kingsmom]

For some reason my dad and I would end up in tickling fights each night after dinner. It really used to piss my mom off. I think it might have been because she was still eating and we'd sort of act up before she was finished. My dad rocked. I miss him.

[Catherine]

A have a bajillion great dad memories, mine is awesome, but some reason this sticks out in my head a lot since we're not a terribly emotionally "open" family and it's not typical for him to share his feelings about us - My dad has always been a big runner, but he's getting older (62 this year) and the aches and pains are making running a little more difficult these days. Once he said "I was asking myself, why do I run? My back hurts, I'm getting old, why don't I just stop? Then I thought, 'because my Dad died too soon because he wasn't healthy. I want live as long as I can for my family.'"

[Sara in MN]

This memory of my dad will never leave me, as long as I live (I hope!). My dad is known for his beard. He had a beard all the time we were growing up. When I was 5, my sisters were 10 & 12. We begged him to shave his beard just once for us (because we were the loves of his life!) and he would do anything for us! So, one night while my eldest sister was babysitting our neighbors next door, he decided to shave his beard (leaving the stache - typical male in 1985) and headed over to the neighbors house to show my other sister. He knocked on the door (we were hiding behind the tree) my sister came to the door, screamed like I've never heard her scream before and ran back in the house! She must've finally realized it was dad because she eventually came back to the door and was pretty mad!! We always tease him to shave his beard again - all the grandkids have never seen him without one, so I think it would be great to get the same reaction my sister once had! Thanks for listening! Can't wait to read all the other memories!!

[Catherine]

I forgot to enter my email in my last comment - but a less serious memory I have - We were all at the Navel Exchange one day when I was about 16, Dad was looking at running shoes, Mom was shopping in the ladies section, me in the books, we were spread out all over the store. All the sudden we hear this "BOOM BOOOM BOOM" coming from the shoes section, I go back there, and there's my dad running at full speed on a treadmill in the middle of the store, and I mean FULL SPEED, his feet pounding loud enough for the entire place to hear and come find out what the hell that noise was. As I tried to hide my face and pretend I didn't know this crazy old man, he starts grinning and waving like a maniac at me through the crowd, yelling "LOOK AT THESE COOL SHOES!!!"

[janell]

My dad owned a McDonald's restaurant when I was a kid, and on Saturdays he would pay me five whole dollars to "work." I would hand out food through the drive-thru window and hang out with all the cool teenagers! My dad owning a McDonald's was the greatest thing in elementary school... Until the new kid's dad worked for Mars and provided an unlimited supply of Snickers bars and M&M's!

[Kristen]

Whenever I would complain about anything (having to do the dishes, too many clothes to wash, average first world problems of a teenager), my dad would say, "oh that's just terrible. You must feel as bad as that lady in Africa, who gave birth to her baby, IN A TREE, because a flood washed away her mud hut. Wow, your life is terrible."
As much as I hated it, it put things in perspective.

[janell]

My dad owned a McDonald's restaurant when I was a kid, and on Saturdays he would pay me five whole dollars to "work." I would hand out food through the drive-thru window and hang out with all the cool teenagers! My dad owning a McDonald's was the greatest thing in elementary school... Until the new kid's dad worked for Mars and provided an unlimited supply of Snickers bars and M&M's!

[Beth]

I remember the first time I cooked for my Dad. My mom was out of town and I decided to make hamburger shepherds pie. The recipe called for one cup of onion diced. I didn't have a fresh onion so I used 1 cup of dehydrated onions. When he took the first bite I asked how it was and he said great and proceeded to eat it. I took one bite and had to spit it out it was so oniony. He continued to eat and said it was just fine. I know he was just trying not to hurt my feelings.

[Amy Jo]

My dad always believed that scaring the crap out of someone was the best way to cure them of hiccups. His usual M.O. was to sneak up on you and scream at you, either in your face or in your ear from behind, depending on his best angle of attack. After I was married, he did this to my husband and they both ended up on the floor laughing their asses off. That's one of my best 'dad' memories. Oh, and there was that whole thing where he gave his brother a kidney, too.

[Tammom]

My dad died of a brain aneurysm when I was 11, but he was our rock. My favorite memory is of his laugh - he just turned a room upside down when he was tickled. He would tease my grandma, a neighbor girl, etc. just to get some laughs. His laugh will be with me forever.

[divrch]

My dad was helping me move from one apartment to another and found a condom wrapper behind my bed. That was fun. My dad is awesome and I had such a great dance with him at my wedding.

[Galyng]

My husband is an amazing father. We have two girls, ages 8 and 4, and he is trying to set a good example for them.

He is extremely shy and doesn't like to call attention to himself. However, a small company near my house spilled chemicals in the groundwater underneath our neighborhood. The chemicals are toxic, though authorities say they aren't enough to cause cancer, just affect the entire central nervous system (no worries!). The chemicals have killed a creek near us (the water is completely black and there are no fish, etc.), and they continue to flow freely in a river behind our house. There are strong smells in our backyard as a result, ranging from a nail polish remover (think nail salon intensity) to a strong sewage smell from the bacteria feeding off the chemicals.
The company is well-connected and so the state environmental agency has been extremely lax in enforcing the clean-up, nor are they penalizing the company. Environmentalists are up in arms about the problem but my shy, retiring husband has been one of the primary faces and vocal critics of the way the process has been handled.
His reason, besides concern for our health, is that he wants to teach our children that if you see an injustice or something wrong, you try to make it right. He's not trying to get money or attention for himself---he just wants the company to take responsibilty for its actions and clean up the mess.
Our daughters have watched him closely throughout this process and have said they're proud of him too.

[Bonnie]

My dad used to say that he received his Swiss Army Knife when he was serving in the Swiss Army. Since my dad always seemed so serious to my friends he actually convinced one of them that he really had been in the Swiss Army before he got married.

[Teressa]

I've been divorced from my children's father for about 5 years. He is a great father to them. However, I live with a man now who is the best father figure to my children that I could ever ask for. My youngest doesn't actually *have* a dad, but she thinks Reggie is her dad. One of these days she will figure out that he isn't, as he is black and all of my kids are white. . .

[elaine]

best memory of my dad is a camping trip we took when i was 5 years old. i amd one of five girls and at the time of the trip we ranged in age from 14 to 3 years old. he (and my mom i think) [packed up the Plymouth station wagon and we went from the SF Bay Area up to British Columbia and back agin. we still talk about the trip ~40 years later! my dad was pretty brave to take that much estrogen on a car trip for 10 days...

[tamera]

my dad unexpectedly passed away Christmas, 1976. he was a wonderful, caring man who spent hours teaching me how to do stuff-like how to ride a bike, plant a garden, drive a tractor, ride a horse. but one of my favorite memories is of him driving up the driveway coming home from work. i'd always be outside waiting for him. he'd be in his old work truck with the windows rolled down. he worked in the oilfield, and he'd be filthy dirty, still wearing his silver hardhat. i can still picture him, grinning from ear to ear, yelling,"hey, puddin' cat!" as he rolled to a stop in his parking place. i desperately hang on to this memory so i can remember the sound of his voice and the love and happiness on his face. i miss him.

[care]

When I was little my mom used to paint my nails with the nail polish that washes off. Once when she was out, my dad redid the polish for me, because it got messed up and I was crying.

[Kim]

I think one of my best memories of my dad is when my son was born & colicky...I was having an awful day after hubby went back to work. I knew my dad was home, so I called him, but I was so upset I couldn't talk cuz I knew I would cry. He knew it was me on the phone & asked, are you ok? I said no. He said is the baby ok? and i said he just won't stop crying! and nothing else. My dad was there inside of 15 minutes...of course by then the baby had cried himself to sleep. My dad just laughed & hugged me. told me to go take a shower. told me he didn't know why I said this baby cried all the time, LOL, cuz he was always sleeping when grandpa was around.

[Dana]

My dad has passed away but my favorite story of him was from when I was born.
I am the last of 5 kids born in an Army Base Hospital in Canada.
After my mother delivered me, she contracted hepatitis and was in quarantine away from everybody, even me.
My Dad took me home and alone with 4 other kids at home, he took care of a newborn and even took me to the hospital to see my Mom.
Of course, we couldn't go in, so he would stand on the lawn of the hospital and sing out "Petunia!" really loud so my MOm would come to the window to make sure I was alright.
I can just picture this strict, no nonsense military man standing with a newborn in his arms yelling Petunia. Makes me smile.

[Ann H]

My dad is a very serious person. The kind of person that you think you should call him Sir, even if he is your dad. When I was around 11, he was removing the wallpaper in our bathroom and, I don't know, maybe the fumes got to him, but he start singing Elvis songs and it was so out of character, and such a dead on Elvis impression that I still cannot believe it actually happened.

[Elizabeth]

Melissa,

I also have dad issues... Imagine that!

But like you I found an amazing guy to be the father of my children (like you as well, Imagine that... we have so much in common, especially cause, my husband is hott too! Though I don't know if he could work a pineapple corer as well as your man. but still, he does adultify my drinks on occasion)

So yeah I don't really have a great story about my own dad. And sadly I can't think of a really cool one to write about my kids dad, so hopefully this still counts as an entry.

[Amanda]

My dad is fantastic and has done so many amazing things for me over the years. Not only did he help me when I was 16 and pregnant and working with an adoption agency, he continued to support me when I decided to keep my son. Right now he is renovating my backyard. One of my favorite memories of him though has nothing to do with his awesome side, but more to do with his goofy side. About 10 years ago I went to dinner with him and my step mom. He had a huge plate of ribs in front of him and about halfway through his meal my dad lets out this extremely loud belly laugh and had tears rolling down his cheeks he was laughing so hard. My step mom kept asking "Lou, what wrong?" He finally calmed down enough to produce the rib he was eating and attached to it were his upper and lower dentures.

[Sheila]

I grew up in a house where my parents LOVED each other. They loved each other so much that every chance they got they were in the bedroom. One Saturday morning, when I was about 9, I heard wrestling in their bedroom. I thought it was my two sisters jumping on the bed so I threw the door open and jumped on top before I realized that both of my parents were naked! I still cringe every time I think about it. My Dad very politely told me to close the door and I'm pretty sure they finished what they had started!

[Laurie]

My dad and I are very close. But I was one HELL of a bratty teenager. I was probably 12 or 13 when the following story occurred.

One day, my dad and I decided we should take up tennis. I don't know why; neither of us was interested, really, but that seemed to be the sport to play. We went to a sports store, bought two racquets and a sleeve of tennis balls and headed to the club to play.

After playing for about 10 minutes, I decided that tennis sucked and I didn't want to play anymore. I purposely hit the ball out of range, or missed it completely. My dad was getting aggravated and hit the ball back to me with a bit too much force. It came to my side, but I just threw my racquet down and refused to get it.

Soooo...he comes running towards the net, takes a leap to jump the net, gets his foot tangled in the net and flips over it. It was HILARIOUS. We ended up on the ground laughing like two fools.

Needless to say, we did not play tennis together again, and instead found something else that we BOTH enjoyed doing to do together: we joined a choir and sang together for 10 years.

[Jeanne]

One horrifically cold Vermont morning my father took my brother and I out to breakfast in his new-to-him 1979 Plymouth Champ (it was probably 1984 at the time). It was our first "second car" intended for Dad's commute now that my Mom was working too.

My Dad is large. The Champ's doors froze shut on the way home, we were trapped in the car. He had to break a window, push me out of it and send me in the house to get tools so he could pry open the door and get himself out.

I still love going out for pancakes with my Dad.

[Melanie]

My dad can't really call him much of a dad. Wasn't around while I was growning up and now just calls to say he saw my son at work or something. They work at the same place that isn't hard to do.

[Gabie]

My dad is pretty much an asshole. Think Clint Eastwood in Grand Torino. Fought in Korea, retired police officer, carries a pistol EVERYWHERE, and frequently uses racial slurs. I'm mostly glad I didn't take entirely after him. So the part about him carrying a pistol everywhere is funny because once while in the grocery store I let him know the handle of the pistol was sticking out of his back pocket and his shirt wasn't covering it but instead of covering it he takes it out of his pocket and waves it around saying he has a license to carry that gun and completely frightened all the shopping mommies.

[bessie.viola]

My dad is one of the great ones... I have many great memories with him. One of my favorite things about him are the little notes he sometimes will leave me - the first of which was in my baby book, when I was 2 yrs old. I treasure them all and have kept every one.

[Joel]

It's not one specific memory but many memories. Namely, fishing with my dad. We are WAY too much alike but fishing is one area we're nearly identical. He's in Ely,MN right now with my brother, b-i-l and two nephews and I've spent all week bummed out that I can't be there. Luckily, the memories of every other time make me smile enough to overshadow this missed trip.

[Laura B]

Instead of being a girl scout as a kid, I was an indian princess. This was a program by the YMCA where girls would go camping with their dads. These are some of the best memories I have with my dad. He worked in retail, so most Saturdays he had to work. But whenever we had a campout, he would miraculously have the whole weekend off. Since my mom was a stay at home mom, I spent the majority of my time with her, but those campouts with my dad. Those were always my favorite weekends.

[Leslie]

My dad is a great dad and a wonderful husband. Twenty-five years ago, my family was out and my mom spotted this Chinese figurine that she just loved. But it was in the window of a store that was closed. The next day, my mom and I went back to get it and the store clerk told us that a fat lady with six kids had bought it earlier. When my dad picked me up from dance that night, he had the figurine in the front seat and yelled gleefully "I'm the fat lady with six kids." That figurine is in their bedroom today.

[The Bug]

My dad is a ham & used to mortify me when I was a teenager - he'd be whistling in the mall & I'd slink away - "I don't know that man!" But my favorite memory is from when my brother & I were little & he would read to us at night. He's a GREAT book reader - should probably have done some kind of community theater or something. Anyway, he'd start every story the same way: "This is the story of the Pee Little Thrigs - Flopsy, Mopsy, Peter & Cottontail." And we would go "Daaaddeee - that's FOUR, & those aren't the pigs names!"

[Jenipurr]

My dad is all kinds of awesome. He was gone a lot when we were kids because he was in the Air Force and most of the time he was gone we weren't even allowed to know where he was. But we always knew how much he wished he could be home more with us.

In a previous life (before the nice letter from Mr Nixon came, telling him to pick a service or they'd pick one for him), my dad was a music instructor, so my very best memories of him are surrounded with music, playing duets on the piano or the recorder, singing together, just the two of us, or with the whole family. He loves the slightly offbeat instruments (banjo, french horn, bagpipes, concertina, the saw), so one of my favorite memories is that on mornings when he was home, he would stand in the door and play 'Farewell to Thee' on his concertina as we headed off to school. Slightly mortifying when we were middle-school/high school aged, but we loved it.

[Jen]

i will never ever forget my Dad riding in a Tonka dump truck down the hill at our cabin...somehow he could get his 'dad' body in that little box and just fly. It was almost as though we could see through the stubble and stained t-shirt over the dad belly and see who he used to be as a boy...and it was great!

[Ana]

My dad is in Romania, where there is no Father's Day :). We do have Mother's Day however, but did not think we need to celebrate the men involved :)
Anyway I miss my dad a lot. He would always buy me all the stuff my mom did not. Just cause I was his girl :)

[renee gillette]

I have 2:
• Every year, we would get our dad with the same April Fool's joke. It was so simple: "Dad, there's a dog pooping in our yard!" He couldn't even see straight and would come running to the window, swearing and griping. Every time.

• We once we rented a huge RV for a trip to Yellowstone. It was my turn to be dad's co-captain. Well, someone cut him off on the interstate, and as was my father's style, he threw out a few hushed expletives. My mother, of course, lectured him on not swearing in front of the kids. He looked at me, laughed, and blatantly flipped off the other driver.

[Amy]

My dad had me convinced that cows and goats had longer legs on one side of their bodies so that they could stand on a hillside and not tip over.

He was also a semi-truck driver and used to freak me out when we went under an overpass -- by yelling, "Oh my God! DUCK!"

Good times...