My dad was born August 28, 1907,
in a hardscrabble coal mining town,
Coalmont, Pennsylvania.
.jpg)
All my life he worked at Goodyear Aircraft,
later Goodyear Aerospace,
and once demanded of the president of Goodyear
to be liberated from his job of supervising engineers
who designed blimps
and let him go fight "this damn war!"
.jpg)
Today would have been dad's 107th birthday.
The Goodyear flag once flew over Goodyear's Belgian facility.
Dad couldn't liberate Belgium in person,
But he did his part.
Happy Birthday.
.jpg)
I enjoy hanging the laundry out to dry;
it's an hour of quiet contemplation.
.jpg)
Last Sunday I looked up and saw this contrail
with little encircling spiral smoke rings.
I stared so long it dissipated a bit.
I wonder if Gandalf was on the plane.
Any guesses?
Happy birthday to your father, Joanne!
ReplyDeleteIt's Harry Potter's broomstick trail. I'm glad you have happy memories of your dad, God bless him.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Happy Birthday to you father.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous skies - and I lose myself in them often.
Hari OM
ReplyDeleteA fitting memorial - even the contrail obliged! YAM xx
his spirit is of course up there, always around
ReplyDeleteYour dad sounds like a man with strong beliefs and determination. Happy Birthday to him.
ReplyDeleteIt does look like Gandalf's smoke from his pipe.
Watching clouds is wonderful stress therapy.
ReplyDeleteGood thoughts of your dad who was part of what they calll, The Greatest Generation.
Happy Birthday to your dad.
ReplyDeleteOh the thoughts that wander through our heads as we stand in our yards.
ReplyDeleteIt is great what your dad did for others.
ReplyDeleteI too used to like hanging laundry outside. It always smells so nice and fresh. I don't have outside clothesline anymore.
As for the swirling smoke of controls, that is very intriguing. Never saw anything like it before.
They made them tough in those days...they ought to be remembered.
ReplyDeleteJane x
I bet he had an interesting career; happy birthday to him! I love the cloud formations!
ReplyDeletebetty
Now that Im retired and have time, i'd like to hang clothes to dry outside. I always enjoyed the smell of sun dried laundry. I should ask for a clothesline for my birthday, unfortunately it's in October and by that time the clothes drying season would be about over. It's a rare day that we see a contrail here.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your Dad...where ever he may be...I hope he has cake.
ReplyDeleteI love hanging out the wash, but even more I like bringing it in, all sunshiny fresh and sweet smelling.
ReplyDeleteI always remember both my mum's and my dad's birthday although they both died in the 1970's. Funny how these dates stick in one's mind isn't it? Happy memories for me too.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday to your Dad, my parents both worked in the shipyards in the San Francisco Bay Area, my Dad had bad eyes so was 4F.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne,
ReplyDeletehappy birthday to your Dad! Born in 1907 he has had an eventful life - I always think with admiration of this generation. We miss them, that's for sure.
Happy birthday to your father. This is a beautiful tribute to him.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to your Dad. He sounds like the kind of people who make this country great.
ReplyDeleteDear Joanne, my dad's birthday is coming on on September 11. He was born in 1905, so he'd be 109 this year. I miss him still and he's been dead since 1975, so 39 years. He didn't fight in the war but wanted to. He was blind in one eye and hoped to become a Seabee and go to the Pacific to set up airbases and necessary buildings on the islands there, but he got turned down for that to. I think not fighting influenced the rest of his life. I think he felt he hadn't done his duty and so he wasn't a real man. It's unfortunate but true. Peace.
ReplyDeleteWhat a different world it was. And yet we are still connected with it through people we knew so well.
ReplyDeleteA day for memories. All jobs were needed for the war effort. It's too bad that going overseas seemed to hold a place of greater importance.
ReplyDeleteA belated toast to your Dad. Lovely post!
ReplyDelete