Jackie Danicki

My dad doesn’t read my blog much, if ever. He probably figures that reading my letters to the editor in the local paper gives him a flavour of what I have to say to the world. All he really knows is that I’m happy and have a purpose (or three) in life, which is pretty much all a parent can ask for, I think. (Antoine explained this to me in more depth the other day, which only made me even more sure that he himself will be a great dad.)

So I’m stealing this meme from Gwen for me, really.

1. When I was little, I wondered why my dad hadn’t been elected President of the United States, since he was clearly the smartest man in the country, and probably on the planet. He could even do algebra without thinking too much. (Now, I write letters to the editor and he agrees with them, which is a good a sign as any that he really is a genius.)

2. One time, when I was six or seven, I saw my dad make a mistake in a math problem. This made me question everything I thought I knew for sure.

3. My dad made a lot of sacrifices to provide for my brother and me. He went without, worked horrible jobs, and put aside his pride to make sure we had what we needed.

4. My dad has two university degrees (which didn’t count for much during Jimmy Carter’s glorious presidency), but his real dream was to be a professional baseball player.

5. He used to take us to Cleveland Indians games, buy us hotdogs and peanuts, and never complained too much when I got bored after five minutes and spent the rest of the game wandering aimlessly around the stadium. (God forbid he’d taken us to a double-header.)

6. My dad has an awesome wife, and the two of them make a great couple. He was never really one for puttering around with home projects when I was growing up, but since he’s been with her, I’ve seen my dad turn into a gardener and a DIY-er. (He still knows well enough to call a pro to fix his riding mower when it’s busted, though.)

7. Few things have made me as happy as seeing how well my dad gets on with Antoine. He even sent A’s parents a Christmas card, telling them how much he enjoys spending time with Antoine and what a great guy he is. (Or, as he said to me when I was chasing him and my brother away from the kitchen while I was trying to cook a meal for them, “Jeez, Antoine must be a SAINT to put up with you!”)

8. My dad is an incredible cook. Whenever I’m coming home, I always ask him to make spaghetti and meatballs or his stuffed cabbage for me. That he will make me pancakes - while my stepmom makes the bacon - goes without saying. He even used to cook special liver dinners for our dogs.

9. My dad’s biggest pet peeve is people who have, as he puts it, “no personality”. I’ve told him that such people do have personalities; they’re just not very attractive ones. Secretly, I share his peeve. When Hillary came to stay with us in Ohio for a few days, he told me after she left, “I would have liked to have spent more time talking to her. She’s a pretty interesting lady.” There really is no more glowing review from my dad. I was thrilled.

10. My dad used to drive me crazy in the mornings, on purpose, by singing and whistling. Often, he’d sing the same line from a song over and over again until I screeched at him to stop it. For this reason, I cannot hear One Night in Bangkok without having a violent reaction.

11. If I ever want to make my dad laugh, I need only three words: “What’s a diorama?”

12. My dad was never one for spending more time at the office than he truly needed to, and I can remember every business trip he ever took - they can be counted on one hand. I am tremendously grateful for that, though the amount of time I was used to spending with him did make me feel I was unprepared for living abroad. (I was, but it didn’t matter.)

If you do read this, Dad, I hope you like the fruit and cheese basket. Sorry about throwing in a pound of chocolate and a bag of chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted you to be sure it was really from your daughter.

Filed under: Life