During my first year of college, my father put his face on the Xerox machine at work, and sent me the picture of his face. Hey! At least it wasn’t his ass. I hung it on the wall and drew concentric rings on it as a joke. Everyone on my dorm floor called the picture “Daddy Dartboard”. In fact, they started referring to my dad as “Daddy Dartboard”. I think they forgot his name after a while.
When the song “Valley Girl” came out, my dad would get on the phone with my friends and do a horrifying Valley Girl imitation. He just couldn’t get enough of saying, “Gag me with a spoon!” During that phase, my friends called him “Valley Dad”.
All of my life, my dad told me that if someone asks you for a match, be sure to say, “Yes! My ass and your face!” I went to a horror movie with my dad in college, and as we were standing outside the theater waiting to get in, a huge guy with multiple tatooes turned to me and asked, “Got a match?”
I said, “Er. . . no. Sorry.” My dad went nuts. “I groomed you for that your whole life, you moron!” he yelled, laughing all the while.
Here’s my dad sitting in our TV room with Tiger, looking like a demon dog, above his head:
Here’s my dad looking sort of professorial (and cross eyed for some reason):
Here’s my dad holding his newest grandchild, my brother’s son Nathaniel:
I just love my Daddy.




June 21, 2009 at 10:20 pm |
Awww! Wow, Robin! So that’s where you get your funny bone! What a cool dad. You’re lucky!
June 21, 2009 at 11:23 pm |
Spy: I am lucky. He’s a cutie. I wish everyone could meet him. I’ll try to make him do a guest blog the next time I’m in Boston. It should be nice and twisted.
June 22, 2009 at 12:00 am |
Hey Robinne – Your Dad is great. I remember laughing hysterically at his jokes with you and Ireland. Wish him a belated Father’s day from me. And Happy Father’ s day to sweetie Adam too!
June 22, 2009 at 12:54 am |
I can see where you get your sense of humor. Your dad sounds like a cool guy, I would’ve loved throwing darts at his face in college.
Hope he had a spectacular day.
June 22, 2009 at 2:15 am |
I don’t blame you for loving him ~ I’ve only been reading about him for two minutes and I love him too already! Adorable. And yes, this certainly does explain your disposition.
June 22, 2009 at 9:35 am |
Callahan: I’ll send your Father’s Day wishes along! My parents love you. They ask about you all the time. My dad needs someone to laugh at his jokes.
June 22, 2009 at 9:36 am |
mrsbear: He did make quite the dartboard.
June 22, 2009 at 9:37 am |
Polly: I’d like to think I take after him. On the other hand, that’s a bit frightening.
June 22, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
Your dad sounds hilarious!
June 22, 2009 at 12:41 pm |
Oh, and I nearly peed over your dog’s head.
June 22, 2009 at 1:35 pm |
Yes, you are DEFINITELY your father’s daughter! And truthfully, that ain’t a bad thing…
Hope your dad celebrated his special day, and I hope Adam was made to feel special on Father’s Day too.
June 22, 2009 at 6:44 pm |
Your dad sounds awesome!
June 22, 2009 at 8:21 pm |
Melanie: It looks like a demonic dog head is haunting him.
June 22, 2009 at 8:22 pm |
Pearl: Yes, I’ve often heard that the apple didn’t fall far from the tree! I think my dad went to dinner with my brother and his kids. I wish I could have been in Boston! We spent Father’s Day with Adam and his dad. It was nice.
June 22, 2009 at 8:27 pm |
FringeGirl: He’s a cutie. Good ol’ Daddy Dartboard.
June 23, 2009 at 5:02 am |
This is really a lovely tribute to your father and I can also see where you got your sense of humor. I wonder how much of it is nature and how much is nurture? Whatever the case, I’m glad he passed it on!
What I want to know is did you ever manage the ass/face comment with the multi-tattooed man? No way could I have done it: I inherited wimpiness from my father.
June 23, 2009 at 3:17 pm |
Awww…what a cutie he is. He just looks like the kind of guy you’d want to be buddies with. The dog, not so much. He looks scary.
June 23, 2009 at 8:05 pm |
Mary: I think you’d like my dad. If I could get him to read blogs, I know he would love your teaching stories. I’m going to plug you into his internet access thingie when I go to Boston next month. (Jealous of my techno jargon abilities, aren’t you?)
I only used that line on Adam once, when he was trying to build us a fire in the fireplace. He thought I was a complete asshole.
June 23, 2009 at 8:06 pm |
asdmommy: He is awfully cute. Tiger’s OK, when he’s not possessed by….The Devil.