6:23 p.m. Today's project was to enjoy some fun time with my dad and Steve on Daddy's 84th birthday. The original reason for his visit was to take Steve out to look at a new electric lawnmower like the one we had that broke a few weeks ago. We had celebrated all of the August birthdays on Sunday, but I wished him the best on his own birthday anyway.(He's pictured to the left with his youngest grandson, my Steven).
When he found out that our friends had blessed us with a powerful gas mower, he said, "Well, Steve and I will get around to something!" And the two of them always do. I mentioned that a professional auto mechanic was coming over tomorrow to replace the Jeep's radiator, and a new project was born! "Dana, let me just come over and have a look at that," he answered. Daddy had his own auto repair service bays in the large Chevron gas stations he owned in the 60's and 70's. So "today's project" for Daddy was to come and make sure the radiator was truly beyond repair, and that wasn't getting ripped off! If I had let my fave dealership do the job, I would be looking at twice what I'll spend with Steve Kirkwood, due to their labor overhead, so I'd gotten two diagnoses of the problem already. But a third opinion never hurts! Proverbs 11:14b says, "in the multitude of counselors there is safety."
Funny how dads' way of showing their love is to examine and fix things, or solve problems, even for a daughter who's been married almost 30 years to a very mechanical husband! By the time I got home from the hairdresser, Steve and Daddy had examined the lawnmower and the garden's burgeoning cantaloupe and were enjoying the KABC's local "News at 11." It seemed utterly weird to me, because our tv rarely comes on before 5 p.m. and it's The O'Reilly Factor on Fox, then Hannity and Greta Van Susteren. By 8:00 p.m., we go out to take our walk.
Since I'd only driven 6 miles home, the Jeep wasn't hot, allowing Daddy to make his examination, verifying with Steve's flashlight that yes, there was a leak, and the price I'm paying is very fair, and indeed, a professional mechanic's license can be one that allows work on his customer's property. "Whatever you do, do heartily..." Colossians 3:23a tells us, and that's the example my dad has set all my life, whether in military service in 3 wars (WWII, Korea, Vietnam); as a business owner; or even working part time in his early retirement years.
My dad was pretty funny while he and Steve enjoyed their hamburgers at the kitchen table, stating that he hadn't used the DVD player and movies my sister and her kids and I went in on for his birthday. "I don't have time to watch movies! Got too many books to read. Besides, with a book, I can read a while, take a nap, wake back up, and take up exactly where I left off." My sentiments exactly!
May the book lovers of our society all be reading at age 84!!
And still have a lot of books yet to get to!
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