February 3, 2008, 2008, Chevy Chase, Maryland.

My Father once told me that as a nurse I made a good plumber.  He was recuperating from a heart attack, and in 1954, the treatment was to stay in bed.  My Mother was the care giver, but she was doing her duty  by speaking at a  Salvation Army function that had been arranged many months prior.  It was my turn  to look after Dad.  He was a good sport and thought my incompetence as a nurse was humorous.  He giggled away when I couldn't get his pillows arranged comfortably  , and did not enjoy my choice of lunch.  But what brought on the chuckle about me as a plumber was when I spilled a whole glass of water over him.  The good thing was we both thought it was funny, not that I had been a total dolt.  It did help me in my choice away from the Medical field.  And I do not recall my Mother asking me again.

My Father was an interesting man.  His family came from Yorkshire in 1910 and settled in Calgary, Alberta.  His father Harry was a shoe maker "Buckley Shoe Repair" was the store.  But he drank too much, which made life difficult for Alice,his wife and the three children.  The result of that experience on my father was enormous.  First off he became a life long non-drinker, second he became a Salvation Army Officer,a job that let him help people, and thirdly he instilled in his two daughters the need to be able to make our own living.  

The results for Dad was mixed.  Not drinking any red wine did not help his heart.  My father was an business man and an independent spirit and that spirit served him well when he was out in the field but when he moved up the ranks and was assigned to Headquarters in Toronto his  spirit just kind of withered.   In a military organization the person on top if key, and unfortunately the Commissioner in Canada at that time was dumb and arrogant.  So my father died at age 62.  But his influence on my sister and me was ahead of the time, but has been very helpful to us both.  

My Father was a very able man.  He could preach and teach, play his trombone, organize concerts, raise money for the Salvation Army,tell great jokes, but what he could not do was fix any thing at home.  My Mother on the other hand was very good at doing everything in the home.  Her Father was an architect and builder, and Walter Houghton could do everything in the home.  Mother thought that my Father could do things if he would try, so every so often she would give Dad a task.  Now they got along very well and so my dad would oblige her by trying.

So here is the scene.  We lived in Vancouver and the main floor sink was leaking.  Mother asked Dad to replace the washer. So he did.  But he forgot to cut off the water before he took the faucets apart, with the result that Dad is standing at the sink with the water shooting up to the ceiling and hitting him on the head laughing at the top of his lungs and calling for Mother.  Mother came to see his distress and laughter, but refused to turn off the water.  Her words to Dad were "Turn  the water off yourself. Next time you will remember your self."  I of course thought it was a great joke too. My Father was a wonderful man, and I am grateful for his influence on my life.  But he would not approve of me drinking red wine!