Take Time Tuesday.....My Daddy

On July 9, 2013 my Dad flew from New York to help me out a few days before my move and to help me drive to Maryland.  I am grateful for my Dad and I love him very much.  He has always been there for me over the last 78 years (he doesn't look a day over 50) and today I want to make sure I take the time to recognize him.  As the saying goes, "we are not promised tomorrow so give me my roses while I can still smell them."  During the 10 hour ride from Georgia to Maryland I was able to spend some quality time with my father and hear a little about his interesting past...some facts I already knew and others were new to me.  I am nowhere close to being a writer able to compose grammatically correct sentences. Therefore I will list a few of the things I can remember in no particular order.

• Born 1935 to John & Dorothy. He was the son of sharecroppers on Charles Hardy (this is the name he remembers) farm in Edgecomb County, North Carolina.
• He had a white dog named Snowball that followed him everywhere he went.
• Although North Carolina was segregated it wasn't as bad as the deep south. He swam in the same creek as his white counterparts
• There was a young boy that would go into my grandmothers house everyday and raid her refrigerator.
• My father would race my grandfathers car and he once broke the axle on his car doing so
• He move to New York City when he was 21 years old and lived with his Aunt.  
• When he got older he got his own apartment with his younger siblings
• He learned how to drive out in the field in his Uncle's car
• He also perfected his skills riding a tractor
• When he was old enough to get a job he no longer did sharecropping with his father but worked at a plant making cement blocks
• He had a friend who wrecked his grandfathers brand new car racing
• Everyone loved his mother's biscuits

These are just a few things we spoke about on our 10 hour journey to Maryland.  It was definitely a pleasant ride.  If you want to learn more about a person I recommend a road trip.  It will either make or break you.  What have you learned about someone during a long road trip?  Was it fun or pure torture?

Welcome to my world!!