Father's Day

Today is Father's Day here in Australia.  It's a dull ol' day outside and has been raining on and off, but that shouldn't stop us from celebrating what this day is all about:  celebrating what our Dad's have done for us.

My Dad's put up with a lot with me and my brother... after all we were all kids once.  He tried to teach me to drive, he's caught many-a Huntsman Spider (of all kinds, but mainly the big hairy kinds that I bolted from like a sissy girl).  He taught me how fix my first - and only - car.  

Dad taught my brother and I values, ethics and brought us up to have integrity and thought for others.  Most of all, Dad made sure we kept a level head about us in times of stress; especially when others were losing theirs.  It's at these times when things can happen very quickly and if there isn't someone there who hasn't got a level head, well, all's lost isn't it? 

Dad taught us both about music.  He liked the old stuff from Buddy Holly to Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.  But on the same token, we taught him what we liked - and we found out why he didn't like the old music we enjoyed; and so we learnt about respecting other people's tastes in things as well without insulting them.

I learnt a lot about fishing, insects and animals with Dad.  There was how he gutted, filleted and boned fish when we were on holidays.  It was a real education on the anatomy of a fish and how they operated.  And we

rarely bought fish from the market; especially seeing we could catch them from the rivers we camped near.  Also, my brother and I were taught to shell mud crabs too from a young age; and we've gotten faster as years have passed by.  And so, when we go to Brunswick Heads, it's a tradition to have mud crab sandwiches with mayonnaise and pepper for lunch out on the fly of the caravan.  There's nothin' like it!

Dad's not much of a reader, but there are times when

he's gotten his nose into a book.  And when he does, he really enjoys those books.  When Billy Thorpe wrote his biographies, I made sure he got them for his birthdays and he had a good giggle from one page to the next as he read them.  I'm glad I bought those books for him (as I'm a massive reader and will read most things; but Dad doesn't read as much as I do).  I hope to be able to find more books for him to read soon.

Well, I hope I have covered all there is to cover about my Dad for this day.  I wrote this because I have yet to purchase a present for him; and thought this would show my appreciation for him.  My brother and I hadn't planned for anything to be going on today and so it's going to be a little like any other Sunday unfortunately.  Well, except this post. 

Happy Father's Dad.  I hope you enjoy this.  And you know, this will her permanently so you can look at this anytime you want.