Jamie's Twisted Journey

To My dad: For some fun times and those rare occasions when we don’t fight. You gave me my personality, blonde hair, sense of humor, and my ability to live as independently as possible; thanks for pushing me, despite having a disability.  Thanks for everything Dad. I love you.

I know I give my dad a lot of grief, but he has actually taught me some pretty cool skills. As a child, he would take me outside, and I’d watch him do wood-working things with the hammer, saw, etc. HE even let me work the saw sometimes! I practically grew up going to Lowe’s or JB Sandoz Hardware store, quite often! Another thing I remember doing often was when he’d be “on call” for work, and he’d take me with him; at his office there was this “magic dry erase board,” that would print whatever was written on it, and it could move to a different/clean board; I just was so fascinated by that board! We also went to Waffle House quite often for breakfasts and went eat at Deano’s Pizza a lot too; I still joke with mom, “We can’t go to Deano’s without Dad; that’s blasphemy!”

Another thing I remember doing with dad was the first time that he took me “crabbing”. Crabbing is where you go catch crabs, and no I don’t mean the STD; I mean, Crabs, the seafood.  We had to leave really early in the morning, so just like for Shriners trips, I would pack a bag the night before, and just change in the backseat. I remember we had ham sandwich supplies to eat lunch, and the darn seagulls were chasing me for my sandwich; finally, I just threw the sandwich and let them have it. I had so much fun, 10 years old, running on the docks to check the crab traps; getting all excited and jumping up and down, “DAD, There’re some crabs in this one!”

Another favorite memory with dad was when we’d go to go kart places; like the Kart Ranch in Lafayette. We’d ride go-karts, Dad always had me ride with him because we are both super competitive; I could trash talk the other people while he drove super-fast, making the hair blow in my face. While there, we also would do mini-golf and I always got a pink golf ball.

The funniest memory was when we were at my Aunt Sandra’s house in the country, somewhere in Texas. We went 4-wheeler riding and went fishing. I don’t mind the fishing, as long as I don’t have to touch them and they don’t flop around near me. I was scared of fish, for Pete’s sake! (What wasn’t I scared of as a kid?!)  Anyway, Dad had caught a fish, and it was on the back of the 4-wheeler and I was sitting on the 4-wheeler; the fish starts flopping closer to me, I scream! It’s funny now, but I was scared to death when it happened. Another memory was when we were riding 4-wheelers (ATV); Dad kept jumping the hills on them, and he lost his glasses in the fields after he had jumped one of the hills. I liked riding the 4wheelers: The wind in my hair, the thrill of jumping the hills; although the landing afterward, made my stomach jump into my throat!

Yes, Dad and I have a…Complicated relationship, but when we get along, it’s golden. I love him, even if he does work my nerves, and I do treasure these memories and things he’s done with me. I will never forget them because they are always in my heart, and I ask for some repeats now and again, like crabbing, which we should be going do again real soon; yay!