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Today’s “Coffee Cocktail” & Leadoff Drive is an OC,SH original collage in tribute to my Dad, who died Wednesday afternoon, 04/03/2019. He was born in Pennsylvania, 12/08/1939, & married Mom ~30 years later; their 50th wedding anniversary is Friday, 04/12/2019. He will be cremated; the memorial (complete details pending) will be Sunday, 04/14/2019.

“I have to go now, my time here is over”
… Patty Loveless, ‘How Can I Help You Say Goodbye’
“I foolishly believed that you would always be there”
… Reba McEntire, ‘If I Had Only Known’

At the moment, I’m not all that sad. I know what other people think doesn’t matter & we all grieve in our own way, but I’m slightly concerned people will get the wrong idea at the service. I’m more relieved that his … & ours … suffering is over, at least in the realm of his health decline & trying to (& figuring out how to) take care of him. If being relieved & not sad comes across as not caring or being glad he is dead, well, then, you don’t know me.

Dad & I didn’t see eye-to-eye on many things [the cars in the collage are stark evidence of that; I was very displeased when “my” car was traded in 1984 & even more so when he bought his “red toy” in late 1996], but we also shared a love of the open road & softball-baseball. Our family road trips when I was a youngster (just a few short years ago, of course) became a foundation of sorts for my personal road trips, 2002-2011. My favorite season during his 25-year tenure as a manager in the Elgin City Softball League was the year his team went undefeated, including a thrilling come-from-behind 1-run win with 11 runs in the top of the last inning, in the rain, for good measure. While Dad was a Pittsburgh Pirates fan & I got my Chicago Cubs bug from Gram (Mom’s Mom), I can still remember him walking into the computer room (where I watched Game 7 of the 2016 World Series just so I could listen to the home-town radio call of Pat Hughes & Ron Coomer), smiling, shaking my hand & saying “congratulations”, knowing full well how ‘emotional’ that win was. I suppose it is fitting: the Cubs’ home (Wrigley Field) opener is this Monday (04/08/2019) against Dad’s Pirates; luckily it is on ABC 7 Chicago.

In the spirit of life goes on, I recorded the “pilot episode” of the new version of my CD Showcase radio show yesterday, Thursday, 04/04/2019; I led off the debut show with 1 of Dad’s favorite songs. After the radio station gives me the green light, we will schedule session(s) to record more shows & should have an idea of when they will air & be available online & via podcast. Meantime, with Dad’s health decline & death, I have not been able to gear up for the return of OC,SH’s full schedule. I promise the regular schedule IS coming back; I appreciate your patience. Stay tuned for further details.

In the collage below, the center pic is Dad, taken a few years ago; then, clockwise, starting at the top left corner:
* Dad & several others August 1957 (Dad, far right)
* me with Dad & Mom’s 1976 Monte Carlo (the car that sparked my automotive interests) the day they traded it for a 1982 Chevette, September 1984
* a drawing I did for Dad of that 1976 MC
* the interior of the 1981 MC SC which my parents bought brand new in early 1982 & I bought from them December 1999
* that same 1981 MC SC as it is today (still mine)
* 1981 MC SC, a couple years after I bought it
* 1981 MC SC, a few months before I bought it
* a softball trophy & a model of Union-Unocal 76 for which Dad worked for nearly 25 years
* a pair of Impalas I gave to Dad