Some call it Armageddon, The Apocalypse, The Reckoning, Hell on Earth, some of these names or colorful phrases are just a few what some people are calling today. Even the new remake of the movie THE OMEN is being released today. Well for me it means something else entirely different. Today is my dad’s birthday. Yep today is his birthday and unfortunately he is not in town to celebrate.
My dad was born in Texas, but his roots are between Edwardsville Il, and Saint Louis, MO. He is the youngest out of 3 children, born to my deceased grandparents, John H. Windom and Frances Windom. My father is John H. Windom II, his older brother (my Uncle Jack) named one of his son’s John H. Windom 3rd, and then HIS son named his oldest son John H. Windom 4th. So as you can see, the name is carried proudly from generation to generation. I learned from my mom that my dad and his brother had made a pact that if either of them had a son, they would name it after the other. Well my uncle was able to follow thru, but my dad has three girls.
So I told myself that whenever I have kids, whenever that is, that at least one of my sons will be named for my uncle whose full name is a MOUTHFUL, in the family he is known as Jack. But let’s just say that he has 3 MIDDLE NAMES;) Yep now that’s impressive. So when I call my son by his FULL name, he will KNOW definitely something is up.
My dad went to High School, followed by college where he obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s. He also has some college credits towards a Ph. D. My father is quite simply an extraordinary man who comes from pretty much an extraordinary family. As far as to my knowledge my father and both his siblings all have at LEAST their Master’s in their respectable fields of study, yet I’m pretty sure my aunt and uncle have Ph.D.’s. Not to mention the extended family on my father’s side. Not to mention my father’s parents were teachers. Education is very important in my family, so I wonder all the time, what in the hell happened to me;(
We might not see eye to eye on some issues, but that doesn’t diminish the respect and love that I have for him. He is definitely one of the most intelligent men that I have ever known, yet that comes natural especially when you meet my Uncle Jack, Uncle Fred, and some other men in my family. What is unique about him though is not only is he “book smart” but he is “street smart” as well. He is 2 sides of coin, even though on your normal coin you do have heads and tails. No matter how you flip my dad he always comes out on top regardless on which side he lands on.
My father was just 12 years old when my grandfather died. My grandmother at the time was not able to cope mentally with the passing of her husband so she was put into a mental institution. My aunt was living in Africa at the time and my uncle was enlisted in the army. My father stayed in the family house by himself, a huge. Collecting rent from the same apartments housing the family owned and STILL own till this day.
*UPDATE* Sorry it took so long to post, my prick of a Supervisor at the job decided to act like he had some balls today and wanted to try them out and see if they actually fit…they didn’t. Don’t worry I will definitely enlighten you on that episode after THIS post.
The types of obstacles that my father has overcome to be the man he is, to me is very special. That is why I know the type of man that I want be with has to have SOME not ALL (lol) of my father characteristics. He is Smart, charming, intelligent, witty, caring, and probably one of the funniest people I know. We actually do have some of the same interests, like comedy shows and cartoons. I enjoy keeping up to date with the news and we do talk about different subjects from time to time.
Anyway, I just wanted to tell you dad, that I love you and I wouldn’t trade you for anyone else in the world;) Happy Birthday SMOOCHESSSSSSSSSS
