They don't make them like my Daddy anymore - (A tribute to my Vati)

My work in retail involves organizing and replenishing greeting cards. In the past few weeks I have filled many hundreds of slots in card cabinets with Father's Day cards. I hardly ever read what is inside the cards and just quickly glanced at the outside, before putting them in their slots and swiftly moving on to the next set of cards. When it was Mother's Day earlier this year, I actually picked a card for my Mutti. However, I have yet to find a card that matches my dad's personality.

He was a man of many trades, but a master of many skills as well! My Vati could fix just about anything that was broken. He even invented some things to make our life easier. Two things stand out: he invented an Avocado picker and he rebuilt the back of our VW Combi bus for travel.

The avocado picker was made of a hook he fashioned from sturdy wire and a recycled nylon fabric netting bag, that was fastened to a hoop. All this he securely fastened to a long pole. This is a picture of the modern day version. I doubt there were any of these contraptions out there when my dad came up with this idea...at least not for non-commercial use.

Now back to my Vati's VW Combi bus remodel. Every year we would go on a long trip to visit my dad's side of the family in South West Africa (now known as Namibia). We would camp - my dad and brothers slept in the tent, and my mom, my sister and I got to sleep in the converted VW.

My dad had welded frames that took the place of the back seats and were covered with plywood sheets and camping mattresses and sleeping bags on top of that. Underneath these frames he had added slide-out wooden boxes for all the groceries and kitchen equipment. When we were traveling, my siblings and I were in the back sleeping, reading, knitting, or singing (never arguing...). No seat belts for us! This was before those became law. My parents sat in the front seats and took turns driving. I think they wore seat belts.

One year when we were visiting my grandparents and Uncle on the family farm, my Aunt Rosi's pet cheetah Pauli entered our VW Combi bus. He had he smelled some smoked meat and biltong my Uncle Friedel had given us for the trip home. As you can tell, our trips were never boring! See also the welded metal frame and sheets of plywood as described earlier, inside the vehicle.

The trip to Namibia was tedious and could become boring, so my dad always planned special places for us to visit on the way. He would read and research all the information on these venues before our trip, and then entertain us by telling us all the facts while we were driving. My dad was not only a great storyteller, but also very knowledgeable about history, geography, and science. We would listen to his stories, albeit some pre-teen and teenager eyerolls. It was only when I became a mom myself, that I truly appreciated what gift my Vati had given us!

However, I followed in his footsteps long before I became a mom. I became a researcher and avid reader too. The greatest discussions and most precious times with my dad, were spent talking about a book I was reading or some new information I had discovered. Telling him my stories and listening to him tell his, became my connection with him. When I moved to the USA, this connection became our Saturday morning ritual by chatting on the phone. He would tell me a joke every Saturday, and I loved hearing him chuckle on the other side of the phone, even before he had finished telling the joke. We would burst out laughing together and feel that special bond deepen. Then he would invariably ask me what I was reading and I would give him my report. Often he would try to get ahold of the same book and that would give us more to discuss in one of the next phone calls.

I miss my Vati. I miss him calling me "Mädi". I miss not being able to discuss new books or new discoveries with him. However, I realize how very blessed I have been to have had a dad like him: a researcher, a teacher, an inventor, a witty storyteller! I am thankful that I see some of those traits not just in me, but also in my son. So the legacy my Vati left behind is not only preserved, but kept alive.

May you have a blessed Father's Day, reflecting or reminiscing about your dad. If you do not have great memories of your dad, maybe you have some male figure who influenced you in a positive way?

God bless until next time,

P.S. I leave you with this special song by Jon Barker "Thank you for being my Dad"