Today marks one year since my father passed away at age 74. The last year has been different, to say the least. As if losing the family patriarch wasn’t enough, there’s been a pandemic, protests and a bubbling culture of hate. In the months leading up to Dad’s death, I often thought about what life […]
Webb: What I’ve learned in the year since my father died Read More »
A week after my Dad told us he had six months to live, we hunkered down in his house for Missouri’s bowl game, the last of many Tiger football games we watched together through the years. Though competitive, I rarely saw the old man get angry during games. This was different. He cussed and threw
Webb: Dad was right … Mahomes pulled it off Read More »
Note: This blog was written on Dec. 22, 2018, two days after Dad told us his doctor said cancer had returned and was terminal. Given six months from onset (probably October) to live, the old man lasted more than nine. He passed away on Aug. 5, 2019, at age 74. It’s been two days since
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VI: The day Dad told us he had six months to live Read More »
As Dad and Mom began their crafting career in the late 1970s and early 1980s, money was almost always tight. That lasted for more than a decade before the business really began to take off in the early 1990s. I wasn’t aware just how tight the tight was until I interviewed the old man a
Webb: Of mice and motels Read More »
After years away, Dad was having the time of his life in the early 1970s. Fresh out of jail on a burglary conviction (one of many in his formative years), he was free for the first time in a long time. A strong, handsome man in his late 20s, Dad had a little
Dad’s jam: Creedence, and many more Read More »
Hey, Dad. It’s Aug. 24, 2019, 19 days since you passed. Today, we took care of the last item on your short list of requests: We set the headstone and sprinkled some of your ashes over the plot. It was an odd day for late August, cloudy, a bit of a breeze and somewhat cool.
The final item on Dad’s short checklist Read More »
About a month after the Joplin tornado in 2011, Dad and I spent Father’s Day driving from the Topeka area to Southwest Missouri. We took that trip to see the damage in Joplin, as much as anything, but we also visited several places dear to his heart. Along the way, we had a breakfast at
Memory of a lifetime: Dad, the goat and Neosho Read More »
Hey, Dad. I just had one of those moments so many people have told me about when you randomly cry due to loss. It’s been 11 days since you left us. I’ve held it together for much of that time, to the point of being surprised I haven’t grieved more. It’s partially due to thinking
Webb: A dream about Dad and one of those moments Read More »
Hey, Dad. Remember that time Dan shot me in the ass with a BB gun and you spanked both of us for it? I know you do because we talked about it a few weeks before you died. Dan still thinks I deserved it. You still thought I deserved to be spanked. I still think
About that time my brother shot me in the ass, and we BOTH got spanked for it Read More »
Hey, Dad. Today is the first time I’ve woken up and you weren’t there. It was, well, weird. In some ways, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be. I did have a hell of a time getting to sleep. For three weeks, I slept in your Lazy Boy beside you.
First day without Dad Read More »
