I have chosen an impossible feat, but here goes! 60 reasons why my dad ROCKS on his 60th birthday, or 60 fun things about my dad that I love, or 60 random facts only a daughter would care about:
60. When my dad is sick, he hybernates in his room and curls up in bed, and I always make sure he has his favorite drink: a dash of pomegranite juice in a Sprite Zero, with the good ice.
59. My dad rarely listens to the radio unless it's TALK radio.
58. When I played Abigail in
The Crucible in high school, my dad sent me black roses because my character was so evil. I loved that!
57. My dad burps like Homer Simpson, lips rattling and it lasts for a minute. It is gross.
56. My dad loves and hates to exercise, but he does it because it's important for him to be healthy enough to wrestle with his grandkids.
55. My dad LOVES babies.
54. Dad is an avid reader when he finds a series or author he likes. When he started reading The Work and The Glory series, he would stay up almost all night to keep reading.
53. My dad LOVES his employees. The people that work at Mr. Dell's are part of his family, and he works really hard to ensure they have jobs and are happy.
52. In a yearbook from my previous teaching job I noticed there was an ad for Mr. Dell's. I asked him if he paid for that and he said, "Of course I did, it's where you work and I support you."
51. When I worked at Mr. Dell's (all through high school), I called him Kurt because it was just easier. It didn't sit well with him (or Betty) and he always told me "I'm DAD, not Kurt."
50. My dad is really into technology, but if it doesn't work for a SECOND, he gets something new. (Or in the case of the Nintendo, he will throw it against the wall.) Thus why he has 2 cell phones: one for email and one for calling/answering calls.
49. Dad loves having his feet tickled, and for as long as I can remember, it's something I've done for him. I remember once I didn't want to and he offered me $100 to tickle his feet--and when it came time to pay up he wrote me a check and signed it "Elmer Fudd."
48. My dad gives generously and anonymously all the time.
47. My dad's closet is bigger than my mom's.
46. If dad likes something, he will get 2 or more. For example, if he likes a shirt, he will buy it in every available color--there's always a backup. (This is where I get it...)
45. My dad is C-L-E-A-N, and requires others to be clean. Example, he makes us shower BEFORE getting in the pool or hot tub. Before.
44. My dad makes the best ribs you have ever eaten. We call them "Crack Ribs" thanks to Brandon and the Pogue family, who say dad's ribs are just as addicting as crack.
43. Kurt sure looks tough, but he is just as emotional as his dad, granpa Dell, was. He tears up at the mention of his missionary son. Try it sometime, he will either tear up or tell you his name is JOE, not Joey.
42. My dad has not one but 2 memorial bricks at Kauffman Stadium--both given in his honor for a Father's Day gift years ago. To my knowledge, he still hasn't found them.
41. Dad loves his dogs. He's put down 2 who were very special to him, Rocky and Woody, and each time he was so sad to lose his buddy.
40. Dad isn't a giggly guy, and thinks my mom and I are crazy sometimes for being so silly. But then out of nowhere he gets silly and giggly, and it is awesome.
39. Making my dad proud isn't easy, he has high expectations for his kids. We all strive to make him proud of us, and when he does it is glorious.
38. My dad would do ANYTHING for his family to be happy. No price is too high, no errand too hard to promote peace and happiness in his home.
37. A LONG time ago when my dad got hair plugs, I remember him sitting on the couch wearing a bandage on his head and a hat over it. All I could image it looking like was new sod, and he did not appreciate me staring at his sod. (The jig is up if you didn't know he got hair plugs at least 15 years ago My bad.)
36. My dad HATES watching The Office.
35. My dad LOVES watching Two and a Half Men.
34. Dad always had a mustache, until he discovered Hootie & the Blowfish. Since then he has sported the goatee mustache look, just like Darius Rucker (circa 1995).
33. Whenever I've been with my mom and she is debating buying something or not, we always say "What would Kurt do." He would buy it. He is an impulse shopper.
32. My dad refuses to use a debit card. He doesn't even have one. He still writes checks or pays in cash. It's weird.
31. My dad LOVES rasberry pie, as long as it's made right.
30. Every year for Christmas, Betty gives my dad canned food that she has canned. He will NOT share these with the family. He either hides them or threatens us. He loves this gift.
29. Once, for Christmas, my brother wrapped up a diet Coke and put it under the tree for my dad's present. He knew dad would be thirsty and loved diet Coke.
28. Dad is a loyal friend. And he has a lot of friends.
27. This may be a surprise, not many people know... My dad LOVES hunting. Oh wait, pretty sure everyone knows that.
26. Once, a few years after granpa Dell passed away, I caught my dad in his den listening to the tape of granpa's funeral service and just sobbing.
25. Dad used to sleep in tighty whities and a back brace. Often he would get up in the middle of the night wearing just that and get a bowl of cereal. Once, after working a late night, I came home to change clothes and the guy I was dating came too. My dad stumbled out in his underwear and completely ignored my date. They never met again.
24. Also, while eating cereal in his underwear, he caught some of my "friends" TPing our house. The next morning he told me about it and said he chased them down the street but couldn't catch them. I asked if he put on a robe on first, and he didn't respond... I still don't know the "friends" who got an eyeful of my dad that night.
23. My dad texts my brother Sam more than anyone. They are BFFs, and have their own secret language when it comes to sports. It drives Sam's wife and my mom crazy.
22. Once during my first year of college, my dad came to visit and took me and my roommate grocery shopping. He bought us $100 worth of junk and I remember thinking I had the COOLEST dad. We were in pizza bites heaven.
21. My mom tries NOT to send my dad to the store, because he will come back with tons of pop, chips, egg nog, and random items. Usually he gets what was on the original list, but not always.
20. When dad's best friend Tommy moved in right behind his house, dad bought a 4-wheeler thing so he could drive over there all the time. Pretty sure Tommy bought one too, just so they could drive back and forth between the back yards.
19. My dad dries off with a blow dryer. For YEARS I thought he was drying his hair and couldn't figure out why it took him 10 minutes to blow dry his hair...
18. My dad LOVES Idaho, specifically the Teton Valley. He says when he drives into the valley, he feels like he's home.
17. Dad is a diligent and vigilant home teacher. He really loves those he he has been called to serve.
16. My dad is a hard worker. He likes hard work.
15. When my dad comes home early to lie by the pool or swim, what he REALLY means is he will spend 2 hours messing with the filters, the surrounding landscaping, the pool's levels, and will only spend less than an hour in the pool.
14. Dad is the only person (besides my brother Jake) that I trust driving a boat. If it's anyone else, I have to close my eyes and try not to panic.
13. My dad always says to "flip the switch" when there's drama. He can be so mad and hurt and upset, and then he mentally flips that switch and all is forgiven.
12. Dad asked us a long time ago, when his kids all started leaving for college and missions, to refer to his house in Missouri as HOME BASE. No matter where we are living, where he and mom are is home base.
11. My dad isn't a talker, unless it's a lecture in which case he goes on and on and on...
10. Growing up, everyone knew the rule about chips with Dad was: don't open it and don't eat the last of it. Heaven help the kid that broke either of those rules.
9. My dad loves beets. I remember growing up and knowing my mom hated beets but she made them for dad. He also loves asparagus.
8. If seafood is on the menu, Dad will probably order it. Thus why he got violently ill from ordering clams, mussels, and shellfish at Granite City... Just the fact that he likes eating clams grosses me out.
7. When he gets home from work, sometimes he will sweep my mom into a movie star kiss, just to gross us out.
6. My dad loves Milk Duds, and has lost many a crown from eating them. I remember once watching a movie in a theater and dad pulling out a tooth stuck in a milk dud.
5. Dad loves card games and can be pretty competitive. My mom refuses being his partner in hearts anymore.
4. My dad has "a guy" for everything. He has a guy for painting, a guy for glass, a guy for the pool, a guy for the house... He knows so many people.
3. No one talks bad about my mom around my dad. He just won't allow it.
2. My dad attends church regularly and diligently. Unless there's a football game on, in which case he can be found in the parking lot in his car checking the score.
1. My dad used to come say goodnight to each of his kids by giving them a hug and a kiss and sometimes a cuddle. I looked forward to that one on one time with my dad every night.
I LOVE YOU, DAD! HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!
