I think all of his children agree, of all his wonderful qualities, our dad's warm and affectionate sincerity stands out most. Sure, he was a little mushy at times, but who of us cared? The hugs and kisses always available, he would pat our heads if the situation called for it--even after we became adults! The man never uttered a cross word; he always--always--had kind, sweet, and supportive things to say to us, even when we had done something wrong--heck, especially when we'd done something wrong.
"Anyone could have made such a mistake."
"That's why they call them 'accidents.'"
"Smarter persons than you have goofed worse than that."
All of us remember words like these just when we needed them.
So, let's all raise our glasses to Father, who--uh, wait a minute. Is this the Johnson family blog? I might have stumbled onto the wrong blog. . . .
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I remember the day he found out that I had broken a window on the back of the house on 14th playing baseball with Gock. He asked me why I hadn't told him about it, and I said that it was because I was scared.
I remember that he sat me down, and said, "Son, you didn't break that window on purpose. You never have to be afraid because you've made a mistake." He smiled that creepy Pert smile. Then he said, "Now, not telling me about it. That's not a mistake. That's a lie. And I can't abide liars." And he proceeded to tear my ass up with a tire iron.
Credit where credit's due, I've never broken another window. But I've lied lots of times.
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