Memory Makers

Yes! I'm recovering superbly from my knee surgery last Thursday. It doesn't seem possible with stitches still in and only 5 days past, but I feel like it already feels better than it did before surgery. And it was a constant pain before surgery. I also discovered the harsh side effects of some pain medications, but I won't go into that here. Let's just say that a steady diet of grains, fruit juices and Metemucil is a good idea for a few days after surgery. Stitches are scheduled to come out on the 25th and I find out then when the Doc is going to release me from work. I'm pretty anxious for this appointment. As those who know me well, I don't like sitting around and "relaxing" all that much. My Dad used to say, "You ca sleep when you're dead, there's work to get done!"
Speaking of Dad, I was listening to "The Hawk", classic country music radio earlier today and there was a song on by Alan Jackson. The title was, "When Daddy Let Me Drive." I didn't remember this song from "days gone by", but immediately it brought about memories from my early teen years. Dad had an old green Chevy flatbed pickup truck with a starter button on the floor board and a gear shift on the driving column. "Three on the tree", as they say. Many times, well before I was of driving age, Dad would tell me to get behind the wheel and we were going to town. Most times this happened on a Saturday morning after tinkering around the farm a while. It was always a treat to head into town with Dad because we always went to the FS gas station where many of his friends were hanging out. Big John owned the station and all the guys would sit around telling stories or talking about the current "going ons" of our busy village of 450 people. The absolute best part of the trip was when we arrived at the FS, Dad would buy us each a Pepsi, still in the glass bottles, and a bag of Planters peanuts. We would take one big drink out of the pop and then dump the bag of peanuts into the bottle. It was so good, it tasted like you were eating a Payday candy bar. This was one of my Dads favorite things. We would have our pop, listen to the latest hubub and then run any other errands we had or head back to the farm. If we were going back home, sometimes he would let me drive home too. This was just one of the great memories I have of Dad.
Every once in a while, I'll get a Pepsi and a bag of peanuts and sit in the truck and enjoy that treat again. I realized as I got older, I preferred Coke, but it doesn't taste the same. It has to be Pepsi, and of course, no longer in glass bottles. Every time I see an old pickup truck going down the road, it makes me think of Dad and I smile. But when that song came on the radio today, I listened to the lyrics and a lump formed in my throat. The story the song told could have easily been Dad and I with a few minor changes. As the song was coming to an end and my eyes were watering a bit {probably allergies} I was getting ready to turn into our neighborhood. An old red Ford pickup truck passed me going the other way on Rt.36..and yes, I smiled. It's been 15 years sinced Dad passed and even the memories make it seem like not long ago. He was a great role model, friend, Dad and all around great guy. On this rainy day in central Ohio, he is missed more than he'll ever know.
That's the view from my stand!