ZERBERT

Dad liked to do anything that would make us laugh or giggle.  As kids, my sisters and I were super ticklish so one of the things he would do was catch us as we were running around a blow on our arm to make a sound.  Today, I think this term is a raspberry, but my Dad liked to use onomotopoeia, so we called them Zerberts because that's the sound it made when he did this. He continued this tradition with his nephews, nieces, and grandchildren.

DAD AND DANCING

Dad liked to dance at family weddings. He particularly liked to dance to a fast paced song named Cotton Eye Joe by the Rednex. (to the point where if the DJ was taking requests, that was his) There was something about the song that made him and everyone want to jump around and have fun, and he loved to see everyone jumping, laughing, and enjoying themselves.

At my wedding, my husband, Gabriel, and I had taken dance lessons and worked out a routine to our song. During the next song, my dance with Dad, at the beginning he leaned over to me and said I don't dance like that, let's take it nice and slow.  I smiled and laughed and said it's okay, I wasn't expecting a routine.  We danced to "It's Your World Now" by the Eagles and it was a very sweet moment to share with him that I will never forget.

We went to my Dad's cousin Ron's wedding.  My Dad loved to tell the story of how my sister, Connie, and I were super close in age to my Grandpa's brother, Joe's, children, Liz and Kat. At the reception, the 4 of us girls danced our tootsies off with him, my Grandpa, and Grandpa's brother, Joe. Once we started we didn't want to stop, and we had a lot of energy. So, they took shifts dancing with us, (with Joe doing the heavy lifting) being silly to make us giggle, and hoping they would tire us out so we would go to sleep early.

These last couple days my mind has been flooded with memories of Eugene and my siblings growing up together.  Man we sure knew how to play and have fun. From hide-n-seek, riding our bikes with a baseball cards clothes pinned to the back spokes for that sound effect, backyard tag football, whiffle baseball (Dad’s rules: no keeping score-just learn to have fun!) S.P.U.D. & H.O.R.S.E., raking leaves and having acorn fights, wrapping apples & potatoes in foil to bake in the burning pile of leaves, building snow forts/igloos (3 rooms) and tobogganing down the hill. Watching Creature Feature monster movies in our makeshift rec-room in the basement on Saturday nights hoping you weren’t the last one left down there bc you fell asleep. All the Christmases and all the Holidays we shared and all the milestone events in our lives. Growing up and having families of our own and the next generation of kids building happy memories with each other. Eugene was a “Jack of all trades” kinda guy. He knew how to fix ANYTHING! He had a mind like a steel trap and remembered things some of us long forgot about. He was the family historian and knew all the tales and lores. And as we’ve gotten older and became the matriarchs/patriarchs of our own families, the visits lessened and were far and few between, but the love we have for each other will never fade. 

All my love to you Kathy, Theresa, Brie, Connie, Josh, Jess, Petar, (your 3 munchkins) Mike, & Anthony. 

GREAT AMERICA

I told this story at my Dad and Mom’s 40th Wedding Anniversary (which was also my Dad’s 60th Birthday Celebration) at the old Warsaw Inn, which was then called 31 North Banquets and Catering in McHenry, as one of my favorite memories with my Dad.

When I was younger there was a 7th Grade trip planned to go to the Great America Amusement Park as a class in Gurnee. Previously, my family had gone there a couple times, but we never really went on the roller coasters as our preferred venue was Santa’s Village with the very, very tame coaster named The Dragon. (their biggest ride)

So, I explained to my parents that I wanted to go, but I was scared and intimidated by the roller coasters. My parents solution to that was a family trip to Great America so I could ride the coasters with my Dad before the class trip to get used to them and not be a scaredy cat in front of my friends.

We arrive and my Dad tells us we are going to start with The Wizard, which was the tamest coaster there at the time, and the only one Connie qualified with height to go on as well. (at this point in our childhoods, I was the Jolly Green Giant and she was super short for her age) So Connie graciously offers to go second after me and Dad. (to scope out and see how this goes) While in line I try every negotiation tactic I can think of and my Dad has calm responses to it all (we are already far in line and we can’t leave now, we paid for tickets to get in and we have to ride rides,(knowing at this age maybe I would be in a money related field in my career path?) you said you wanted to do this with friends and finally, if you puke, puke over the side and it won’t be on you or in the cart so no one will know. (I was a puker in childhood but he was ready with an answer, maybe for self preservation too?)

So we went, and in those times each coaster had a spot where it would snap your picture and you could purchase it at the end of the ride.  I’m freaking out during the ride and my Dad is trying to calm me down, and at the end I ended up enjoying it so much that after he rode with Connie, we went again. 

The rest of the coasters was just me and Dad, American Eagle (the wooden coaster), Shock Wave (my first loop de loop coaster) and many more. I ended up asking, Can we go again? at the end of them all. And at the end of each, he purchased the picture with us in the cart. At the end of the day, I realize I haven’t looked at these, and in each one I am red in the face with my mouth open in a girlish scream, and both hands are holding the bar in the cart with white knuckles. But my dad knew where each camera was in each coaster and he actually posed for the picture, one with a huge smile looking directly at the camera, a couple with both arms held straight up in the air, and my favorite was finger guns at the camera with both hands while smiling.  I burst out laughing when I saw these because that was totally my Dad. I’m pretty sure that day contributed to any kind of hearing issues he may have had.

This was an important lesson I learned from him, which was it’s ok to be scared, but it’s better to take a chance and try to work through it because you may enjoy the results.  I bought a seasons pass to Great America for many years after that because of my love for those rides.

UNCLE STEVE AT MY DAD AND MOM’S WEDDING RECEPTION

This was one of my Dad’s favorite stories to tell about his brother, Steve. I got permission to tell this.

My Dad and Mom had their wedding reception close to my Grandpa and Grandma’s house in Pistakee Highlands. There was joy, merriment, and a lot of dancing.  As people were on the dance floor and conversing with one another, their drinks were left behind on the tables. My Uncle Steve felt like he wanted to help “clear the tables” so he snuck drinks from the half full glasses people left behind. He was being helpful! (This is exactly a quote from how my Dad liked to tell the story) So, needless to say by the end of the night he had helped a lot, and was feeling pretty good. (see picture memory from that night)

Thank you for letting me share this story Uncle Steve!

SKO-DINK!

At most family holidays, our immediate and extended family would toast after we said a blessing and before we ate the meal. The grown ups would have wine at the big table and the kids would have Welch’s sparkling kiddie wine at the kids table. The word “skol” is a common term for “cheers” but to kids if you say it fast sometimes it sounds like “sko” and “dink” is the sound it makes when you toast and clink wine glasses together, so together that is “sko-dink” and that became our large families traditional toast together at holidays.  And you HAD to try to clink EVERYONE present.  In later years, someone invented “sko-dink electricity” and if you said that, it exempted you from clinking with that person and still counted as done. So from my Dad to everyone’s families, SKO-DINK!