Dad's Birthday

It's my Dad's birthday, I think he'd be 87 if he was alive today. I was a terrible helper when I was a kid. Dad would occasionally do some side plumbing jobs on Saturday mornings and take me along to "help". All I wanted to do on Saturday mornings was watch cartoons. My task on these jobs usually consisted of sanding and wire brushing copper pipe and fittings to prepare them for soldering as we were sequestered in someone's strange basement. Then I get to tamp the yokum into sewer pipe connection after which Dad would pore in hot melted lead to seal it. I sometimes wonder if being around that lead was a problem knowing what we know now?!? Looking back it was good for me to go along, not that I ever wanted to be a plumber but once I was out on my own I had something to draw on when a home repair type thing came along.

Still think about you Dad!

The photo is cropped from a family portrait I think may have been taken in 1959.