Roller Coaster Ride of a Life

My dad has always had a thing for cars. He’d go to car shows with his dad and learned about working on them so he could do it professionally. When asked if he studied to be a mechanic in college, he answered, “When I first went, I was thinking about being a teacher. I just kind of changed my mind from that.”

Other than having what he called ‘odd jobs’, his first job was Linen’s and Things where he worked full time in the summer and part-time during school. It was the first place he got a regular paycheck, and it’s also where he met my mom.

In high school, he was in an orchestra and a theatre company, where he made many friends but unfortunately lost touch with them throughout the years. I asked him if he acted in most of the plays in school. His response was, “I had extra parts in one play where I was on stage that was in ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ I played an Osian, and I played a Winkey.” He went on to say, “For the other plays, I helped with running the lights and helping with sets. In one play I was in the pit orchestra.”

He did Boy Scouts making to Eagle Scouts; he went to summer camp every year, as well as camping. He got many merit badges and stayed until he was too old to continue. When he was young, he had a dog whose name was Emmy and a Conure whose name was Peachy.

He enjoys riding roller coasters at amusement parks like Dollywood. When he lived in Michigan, we would go to Cedar Point at least once a year. He went to Boblo Island when his dad would have company picnics that family could attend as well. As it was on an island, you had to take a boat to get there. It’s closed now, but when there were picnics he’d spend the whole day there riding rides.