Respectfully not in, but great stories. Makes the eyes a little watery. My dad hasn’t had an easy life. His father was an orphan, who grew up on the streets for the most part, and as he aged, became a severe alcoholic. My dad told me that my grandfather would disappear for days on end on a binge and he and granny would have to go look for him. They would eventually find him passed out in an alley or on a bench somewhere and bring him home. My dad grew up around that; watching his father destroy himself with alcohol. There were nights in the winter where the heat would be shut off because the bill wasn’t paid and my dad (as a very young child) would have to wrap himself in every blanket in the house just to stay warm enough to sleep..my grandfather died before I was born, so I never knew him. My dad said that he was very loving, sweet, and protective. From the pictures I’ve seen he was a big strong man, and very handsome. My dad said that when he walked into a room, the women would just stare at him longingly. But he had his demons and they eventually killed him. Although he loved my dad, childhood was miserable. My dad grew up and put himself through college and law school. Things were looking up. When I was 5 years old, his mother (my granny) was murdered in cold blood. My dad was devastated, and this changed him forever. He became paranoid, angry, resentful..and understandably so. The woman who held that family together through all of the **** my grandfather put her through was gone, and gone in a bloody, terrifying way. 10 years ago, my brother (who was 20 at the time) developed a devastating neurological disease that has rendered him completely incapacitated, requiring 24hr care at home. The money my dad had put away all those years for retirement has all been used for medical expenses. He will never retire. I write this not to be a downer, but to recognize him for his dedication to his family. Despite the ****ed up life he has had, he is there, taking care of his ill son, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And he will likely continue until his death. I am lucky to have him as a father, because he has shown me what love and dedication really are. I love you dad, and I pray that you find peace, and I pray that you live to see your son recover, God willing.
The Flightless Waterfowl Father's Day PIF
- Thread starter DEPenguin
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #22
There are no words I could paint that could justifiably give your post proper respect . . . but if a mere "Thank you" will do then I offer it with the utmost sincerity, and am glad you chose to share it with us publicly.
my dad would be pleased that you did. He, his brother and their dad were hilarious people. I miss them all.
I'm in! And I'm not "new" to this hobby, but I'm trying to win this to supplement my gift to my dad for Father's Day, so I think that makes me eligible to enter (tomorrow is German Father's Day, by the way. My dad's in the States, but I'm in Germany, so I have to remember to wish him a happy father's day tomorrow as well as the American third sunday in June date).
Since I've got a lot of stories about my dad, I guess I will just tell a very recent one, about how I got my dad to use a brush and actual shaving cream for the first time.
In March, just before I finished up my time in Bonn for grad school, which was right before I moved to Hamburg for my thesis (where I currently am), my parents were able to swing over and visit me here in Germany for the first time. My dad was presenting at a conference (he's a photographer) in the UK, and for those Americans among you who aren't aware, flights in Europe are INSANELY cheap, so it was a really convenient time for them to swing over for a few days, see where I had been living for a year and a half, and then take some stuff home I didn't need here/didn't want to carry to Hamburg on the trains with me.
So they're over here, and I'm showing them the sights and whatnot when my dad said he needed to go to the drugstore to buy some shaving cream (meaning canned foam) since he didn't take any on the flight over. I convinced him that it was pointless to get a whole can, which I wouldn't use once he left, for just the few days he was there. So I went back to my apartment quickly, grabbed a cheap brush I had out as well as a 2/3 full tube of Florena shaving cream and told him to go to town with it. Well, he loved it, and so naturally I just told him to put the things in his suitcase and take them home with him to use.
Ever since then, he's still using just cartridge razors (I think he uses Harry's, though I could be wrong on that) but with an actual brush and actual cream. The reason I'm in for this PIF is because it seems like he's interested in the DE game that I'm tangled up in, and those soaps are all ones I've never tried before, but surely are better than the Florena I gave him. Don't get me wrong, Florena works just fine and has a pleasant enough scent, but it's exactly what you'd expect to get for 0.60€, functional but certainly not luxurious.
Now for the funny part of the story: While the folks were here, my mom also fell in love with using the brush and cream, but we know that if I gave her anything nicer than the bare bones setup I got for my dad, he'd co-opt it from her. So I told her where I had a better brush hiding at home, and gave her a brand new tube of Speick cream for her usage, and she hid the Speick until she got home and now is hiding both the cream and nice brush for her personal use. xD I only tell you this because I know my old man's not on the forum, so no need to worry about that!
In any case, hope you enjoyed the story, even if it's a bit rambling. Good luck to everyone that enters!
Since I've got a lot of stories about my dad, I guess I will just tell a very recent one, about how I got my dad to use a brush and actual shaving cream for the first time.
In March, just before I finished up my time in Bonn for grad school, which was right before I moved to Hamburg for my thesis (where I currently am), my parents were able to swing over and visit me here in Germany for the first time. My dad was presenting at a conference (he's a photographer) in the UK, and for those Americans among you who aren't aware, flights in Europe are INSANELY cheap, so it was a really convenient time for them to swing over for a few days, see where I had been living for a year and a half, and then take some stuff home I didn't need here/didn't want to carry to Hamburg on the trains with me.
So they're over here, and I'm showing them the sights and whatnot when my dad said he needed to go to the drugstore to buy some shaving cream (meaning canned foam) since he didn't take any on the flight over. I convinced him that it was pointless to get a whole can, which I wouldn't use once he left, for just the few days he was there. So I went back to my apartment quickly, grabbed a cheap brush I had out as well as a 2/3 full tube of Florena shaving cream and told him to go to town with it. Well, he loved it, and so naturally I just told him to put the things in his suitcase and take them home with him to use.
Ever since then, he's still using just cartridge razors (I think he uses Harry's, though I could be wrong on that) but with an actual brush and actual cream. The reason I'm in for this PIF is because it seems like he's interested in the DE game that I'm tangled up in, and those soaps are all ones I've never tried before, but surely are better than the Florena I gave him. Don't get me wrong, Florena works just fine and has a pleasant enough scent, but it's exactly what you'd expect to get for 0.60€, functional but certainly not luxurious.
Now for the funny part of the story: While the folks were here, my mom also fell in love with using the brush and cream, but we know that if I gave her anything nicer than the bare bones setup I got for my dad, he'd co-opt it from her. So I told her where I had a better brush hiding at home, and gave her a brand new tube of Speick cream for her usage, and she hid the Speick until she got home and now is hiding both the cream and nice brush for her personal use. xD I only tell you this because I know my old man's not on the forum, so no need to worry about that!
In any case, hope you enjoyed the story, even if it's a bit rambling. Good luck to everyone that enters!
- Thread starter
- #25
That is good stuff! Got dad and mom with a foot in the door. Great story!
It was my pleasure to share. Happy Fathers Day to all.
Please count me in.
My Dad isn't the PTA or big social event type, but when I was in elementary (about first grade) he actually brought some animals to school related to what we were talking about in class for the kids to see. He brought a fox (someone he knew had caught it) and some other animals. Maybe turkeys or some other livestock type animals. Probably the closest anyone there had ever been to a fox! As a first grader that made me feel like a pretty big deal.
I think that was before he had any peacocks or emus lol.
My Dad isn't the PTA or big social event type, but when I was in elementary (about first grade) he actually brought some animals to school related to what we were talking about in class for the kids to see. He brought a fox (someone he knew had caught it) and some other animals. Maybe turkeys or some other livestock type animals. Probably the closest anyone there had ever been to a fox! As a first grader that made me feel like a pretty big deal.
I think that was before he had any peacocks or emus lol.
Pun intended??
Glad you enjoyed it! Just make sure to not let my dad know that mom has the "good stuff".
- Thread starter
- #29
Joshua227--you're in, animals and all 
Huck1195--it's a deal!
Huck1195--it's a deal!
I'm in. This is a great PIF. Thank you for it.
My favorite memory of my father was when I was in 5th grade. My parents just divorced and my father and I would spend time together every Saturday. We would go fishing play pool the drive in. Just something every Saturday. Also every wed he would pick me up from school and go to lunch then take me back. When I was in 6th grade we started tubbing down the river. I also got into boy scouts and he went on every activity we did. Camping hiking biking just everything. It was time I loved and looked forward to. 8th grade he started dating again and all of the things we used to do ended. After that he never had time alone with me. So to me all of those memories of the time we spent together I always held onto. I'm now 37 and he and my mother got remairied and we are just now starting to make our relationship good again. Before I got sick and had to deal with these medical problems once a month we would go to the shooting range. It is Rocky but I'm sure it will be good again. You know my father's relationship is like the song cats in the cradle.
My favorite memory of my father was when I was in 5th grade. My parents just divorced and my father and I would spend time together every Saturday. We would go fishing play pool the drive in. Just something every Saturday. Also every wed he would pick me up from school and go to lunch then take me back. When I was in 6th grade we started tubbing down the river. I also got into boy scouts and he went on every activity we did. Camping hiking biking just everything. It was time I loved and looked forward to. 8th grade he started dating again and all of the things we used to do ended. After that he never had time alone with me. So to me all of those memories of the time we spent together I always held onto. I'm now 37 and he and my mother got remairied and we are just now starting to make our relationship good again. Before I got sick and had to deal with these medical problems once a month we would go to the shooting range. It is Rocky but I'm sure it will be good again. You know my father's relationship is like the song cats in the cradle.
- Thread starter
- #31
Got you added, Suhrim!
Stories like yours make me wonder what my son's memories are like. I have tried to be that good dad, to always be there when he needed me--for better or worse. I know I haven't been perfect, and for that reason I am not ashamed to admit I'm reticent to ask him for fear I'll hear something heartbreaking. He's a lot like me, which means he would probably say something vaguely encompassing like "It was fine." I like to hope that my contribution to his raising is measured, to some degree, by the kind of man he has become . . . so far, so good.
Stories like yours make me wonder what my son's memories are like. I have tried to be that good dad, to always be there when he needed me--for better or worse. I know I haven't been perfect, and for that reason I am not ashamed to admit I'm reticent to ask him for fear I'll hear something heartbreaking. He's a lot like me, which means he would probably say something vaguely encompassing like "It was fine." I like to hope that my contribution to his raising is measured, to some degree, by the kind of man he has become . . . so far, so good.
Yes it sure did, just perfect in all ways!
Your dad is an exemplary person, a saint as most parents are, who very much loved his family - my he rest in peace.
He is still with us fortunately, but thank you for the kind words and thoughts.
Iloverootbeer -
My sincere apologies, I made a foolish error on my part.
I meant, may your grandfather rest in peace.
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
No need to apologize my friend, and thank you.
- Thread starter
- #37
+1 A quick bump to give others a shot at 1 of 2 PIF sets!
I'm not in. I've been in too long and have too much. I would like to echo the sentiment here... What a nice PIF from a great son. Your dad taught you well. [emoji846]
I would also like to comment on the soap. The WTP line is a GREAT soap. Don't let the price fool you, it works amazingly well. It's not drying, offers good protection, and being tripple milled means it'll last until the end of days. I bought this set around a year ago. The Blue barbershop is my favorite... what a wonderful smell. A light barbershop scent with a lot of talc and citrus tones. Someone may be in for a treat here.
I would also like to comment on the soap. The WTP line is a GREAT soap. Don't let the price fool you, it works amazingly well. It's not drying, offers good protection, and being tripple milled means it'll last until the end of days. I bought this set around a year ago. The Blue barbershop is my favorite... what a wonderful smell. A light barbershop scent with a lot of talc and citrus tones. Someone may be in for a treat here.
- Thread starter
- #39
That's good to know! I will have one left when this is done so I may have to hoard it for myself--as if I need another soap. But I'll take one for the team 
- Thread starter
- #40
Five days left, folks! Get in if you want in!
