Reflections On The Life Of An Ol' Man by Kelsie

On Friday, February 15, 2013 we celebrated my Dad's birthday.  He turned 40 years old on his birthday.  I began to wonder, what have his forty years been like?  So, after much thought, I decided to ask him ten questions.  This is what he said.  I asked him to tell me about his favorite birthday.  He had to think about it and said, "Well my favorite birthday was when I was twelve years old.  I had a big sleepover and stayed up all night watching movies."  I then asked him about his siblings and what they were like.  He said, "They were very good and loyal.  We might not have always gotten along, but we loved each other."  Question three - What was your favorite childhood memory?  He said, "My favorite childhood memory is of hanging out with my brothers and sister on the farm, riding my bike on the country roads and church activities like RA's."  I then asked him to tell me about a time he and his siblings got into the most trouble.  He answered, "One time when I was five years old, a friend gave me a toy and it wasn't the one I wanted.  I got mad and told him that I hated him.  My Mom washed my mouth out with soap."  I then wanted to know who his best childhood friend was.  He replied, "My best friend's name was Eran Jones.  We did all sorts of things together."  I then asked him who his best friend is now that he is an old man.  He replied, "I have many friends, I don't want to name them by name because I might leave someone out."  Then I began wondering what the most daring thing was that he had ever done.  He said, "The most daring thing I ever did was when I was a kid, I went up on top of the roof of the church and threw water balloons at cars that were driving by."  As I was writing down his answer, I don't know why, but it suddenly made me think of another question.  So I asked my Dad about his favorite gift he had ever received.  He explained, "When I was a kid, I got Wrist Racers.  I loved them and played with them with all my friends."  My next question was for him to tell me about his dog.  He said, "I had two dogs.  Their names were Addy and BJ."  At this point I realized I only had two questions left to ask, so I wanted them to be good questions.  I asked my Dad to tell me about the scariest thing he had ever done.  He quickly replied, "The scariest thing for me was the day we brought three babies home from the hospital."  I was astonished!  I'm pure precious.  I just decided this answer must be because he has recently been dealing with mental issues since turning forty.  My final question for my Dad was for him to tell me exactly what it's like to be forty.  He responded like only my Dad can:  "It's better than the alternative - DEAD!!!"  Wow Dad, really?  So there you have it.  Reflections on a life of an ol' man.