Today is Father's Day.
Pop would have been 94 if he was still "physically with us." Pop was born in 1919... and passed away in 1988.
He's probably spending today watching one of the golf tournaments on television. I hear they have some pretty nice recliners where he is. I also hear the cable reception is much better where he is than any of the available cable "down here."
For much of last night, and much of this morning, I spent quite a bit of time thinking about him. Actually... I think about him a lot more often than that.
Once again... I found myself on YOU TUBE. I was listening to some of the songs that were popular in the 1940′s… when my Dad was in his early 20′s and my Mom was two years younger than that.
There were so many great songs there… so many songs that surrounded Dad and Mom… way back then.
I was mostly listening to songs from WW2.
Pop was “over there” when I was born early in 1944. I have a letter that my Mom sent my Dad… showing him a picture of her holding lil ol’ me… newly born. How could you tell it was me she was holding? Well... that little baby was sticking its tongue out... so that about cinches the fact that it was me... LOL.
Almost all of the songs were sung by Vera Lynn. Two of them were… “You’ll Never Know” (Vera Lynn, 1943) and "When the Lights Go On Again” by Vera Lynn.
They were followed by Ms Lynn… who became Dame Vera Lynn… singing After The Rain, and We’ll Meet Again , and the incredible When I Grow Too Old to Dream. The list goes on and on and on. You get the picture.
And then I found an interview with Dame Vera: Dame Vera Lynn on GMTV. It was just simply amazing. You Tube… in many, many ways… almost makes the past “live again.”
All songs celebrated “the troops”… with the fervent hope and intent that they would someday return.
It’s quite ironic. The older I get, the more my Dad and his memory mean to me… and the more I realize just how much he went through to finally come home to me and my Mom as we waited for him in Cleveland.
Happy Father's Day, Pop. I miss you.
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