MEMORY MONDAY

 

My mother has written her memoirs and has been after me to write mine. I have been resisting for a while however I am creating Memory Monday to help me along. Come join me with your own memories. Each week will be a different prompt to encourage the writing of your memories. Link your memories and share them with everyone.

Our prompt is: My Dad

My Dad personifies the definition of a self-made man. He was the youngest of 8 children with 3 brothers and 4 sisters and his parents were homesteaders on the prairies of Saskatchewan. Unfortunately his mother died when he was 10 years old at the height of the depression. Having families of their own except for one sister he was left to his own devices most of the time. He joined his youngest sister in Ontario when the farm was sold at the  start of World War 2,  and stayed with an aunt.

Failing to complete his Grade 8 education during the day and working to set up pins in the local bowling alley at night, he left school and joined the Merchant Marines where he worked the boats on the Great Lakes.  He also worked for Parker pens as well as at a Texaco Gas station until he finally he learned the glass trade.

On his first day of school his teacher verified his birthday and told him he would own his own business someday. This eventually came true one week before my brother Doug was born. The business started with his last pay cheque in his pocket and the pillows from the bed. He never looked back until the business was closed 52 years later because of  Alzheimer's.

My Dad is a gambler and made his world by betting on the odds and beating them. He worked hard and provided us with a wonderful upbringing. He ensured we had a good education because he didn’t get one. He took risks and most of them paid off.

His story will continue to be told as these memories grow.

 

Next Week’s Prompt: My Christmas Stories

My daughter made us a Memory Monday button that you can grab from my sidebar if you want.

Please link up your posts to this continuing linky so we can watch each other’s memoirs develop over this year.  Please use the format of “PROMPT – BLOG NAME” so we can follow each week’s writing.