HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY, DAD!

If my dad would have lived two more months, he would be turning 90 years old today & we would be sharing a glass or two of wine together. Happy Birthday, Dad! I wanted to do a little photo tribute to my dad on this emotional & special day. Family was the highlight of his life. First Karen & I were his focus, then Darrin was the apple of his eye. And finally, our beautiful Charley constantly delighted him.

This is my favorite picture of our four generations. Sports have always been a love of our family, my father especially. We wore our shirts & took this photo as the playoffs began when the Warriors won their second championship (third, actually if you count 1975). We did the Number One thing believing they would win it all & they did!

We took a few four generation photos that will live on for the next generation. Fortunately, either my mom or my Grandma Hattie took this one & it survived over 60 years!

This photo goes WAY back to probably 1955 with my dad's father & grandmother. Wow, my dad was 27 & had black hair! That's me on the left at age 5 sitting on my Grandpa Harry's lap & Karen was just a few months old with our "Old Grandma" as she was referred to - my guess is that she wasn't thrilled with that name.

Our tiny baby girl was just a few weeks old when we took the first of our four generation photos with my dad as the patriarch. Getting a good photo of my dad can be a real challenge. He is one of those people who looks at a camera & suddenly a crazy expression crosses his face.

This one was taken three years ago at Christmas. One of our better attempts at getting the four of us to look pretty good.

After my mom's death, my dad made yearly pilgrimages to Sea Ranch. In recent years his health made the trip north difficult. Last year we all made one last visit to Sea Ranch a reality for him. This is a small meditation chapel just off Highway 1 in Sea Ranch.

About ten years ago we had some professional photos taken. This was a three generation one with Darrin, my dad & me - B.C. (Before Charley).

This is probably the only time he had a professional portrait taken.

My dad's health issues began just after his 69th birthday when he had a brain stem stroke. Most people don't survive those but my dad made an almost miraculous recovery & we had a huge bash to celebrate his 70th birthday. He loved it! Some friends even flew in from Washington to surprise him.

Yes, we put 70 candles on the cake & made him blow them all out! There was a time when we weren't sure he would even make it to his 70th birthday & he eventually made it almost to his 90th!

For some reason I don't have any photos of him & my mom together. She died over 27 years ago. My parents weren't into taking photos & didn't like or want their pictures taken. Nor does my sister but here is a rare photo of my dad with his two daughters probably taken at least 15 years ago.

You'll notice that the champagne was flowing freely in this photo which probably explains how we managed to get my dad & Karen to sit still long enough to snap a picture.

When Darrin entered our lives & later Charley, I was far more into taking lots of photos. It was still difficult to get a good photo of my dad. He just can't seem to keep a natural expression on his face when the camera is present. We had to catch him adoringly admiring his only grandson & only great granddaughter to avoid the goofy face.

Back in 1977 when Darrin was one, my dad's hair was just turning gray.

Meeting his great-granddaughter, Charley Ellen, when she was one day old at the hospital in October 2011.

Holding our precious Charley Ellen at just a few weeks old.

Darrin & his dad scattered my dad's ashes up in Sea Ranch along the northern California coast. My parents spent lots of time up there & loved it. My mom was scattered there along our favorite trail over 27 years ago & now my dad has joined her.

Happy 90th Birthday, Dad! Wish you could have made it to this milestone birthday.....BUT I'm guessing that you really don't care now since you are enjoying time with our mom, your mom & dad, old friends, & of course, laughing & telling jokes with Harold nonstop. We miss you!