Since my birthday is always close to Father's Day, my Mom used to tell Dad that I was his Father's Day gift. I think this annoyed my Dad. I was often a thorn in his side. I abandoned a childhood love of physics and astronomy to go to architecture school. Just when my Dad was getting used to the idea of his son as an architect, I abandoned architecture for a career in advertising. Dad had little use for advertising. He was a devout Lutheran and he never really understood when I abandoned the church. We were not always close, but I always admired my Dad. He was an honest man, a Navy veteran, and a proud member of the greatest generation.
Dad was a scientist who enjoyed watching The Three Stooges on TV after work. He was an avid reader and often gave me books he thought I should read. We never shared the same taste in books. To this day I don't know why he enjoyed Don Marquis so much. He probably wouldn't understand why I liked John Kennedy Toole. I've tried to read The Old Soak and A Variety of People and always lost interest after a few chapters. I never thought Don Marquis was funny. I usually lost interest in watching college basketball with Dad as well. Dad loved basketball. The one time when he seemed a little interested in my advertising career was when I told him I was producing a series of commercials with famed basketball announcer Dick Vitale.
I'm not a Dad myself, but I did a few dad-like things today. I reluctantly hooked up the pressure washer and did my best to clean all the spider webs off the living room windows. Spider webs are almost impossible to remove. The pressure washer will remove paint from the window trim before it will dislodge the pesky spider webs. The webs are full of spiders too. I have to remember to wear a hat when I do this chore, or I will end up with a mess of spiders in my hair. The windows look better now, but this is such a messy job. Water always seeps around the edges of the large single pane glass and I have to mop up water spills on the inside of the house. I wish there was a special paint that repelled spiders. It would be worth repainting the house just to get rid of these nasty insects.
I got a lot of exercise today. We started the day with a long sunrise walk. Dash really enjoys these early morning walks. I went to the gym right after breakfast and did pretty pretty well throwing free throws on the basketball court. Dad would have been surprised that I enjoy shooting baskets. Hey, it's a pleasant way to develop hand eye coordination. I still don't follow the sport. I couldn't fill out a NCAA tournament bracket to save my life.
I don't know how long the windows will stay clean, but I'm not looking forward to cleaning the rest of the house with the pressure washer. I usually do this once a year. Cleaning the exterior of the house and tending to the yard are largely symbolic gestures. Mother nature won this battle many years ago.
The landscaper still hasn't showed up with the replacement grass. I should introduce him to the roofer. These two guys are peas in a pod.
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