Reasons I love my Dad

5) 2008

Gretzky: Dad, can you take me to the airport Friday?

Dad: Sure.

Gretzky: We gotta leave at 4:30 a.m.

Dad: Yeah, that's great.


4) 2006

Gretzky: Dad, where's the hammer? It's not in the toolbox.

Dad: It's on the shelf behind the toolbox. Do you need nails? What size do you want?

Gretzky: Little ones.

Dad: (Goes to the nailbox, gets about 100 tiny spiky nails.) Here you go.


3) 2007

Gretzky: Why'd you marry mom, dad?

Dad: Don't tell her this, ever. You are sworn to secrecy. It was because she was pretty. Just beautiful.


2) 1998

(Right after a car accident, my fault. I didn't have a chance to say anything before Dad said this.)

Dad: Are you all right?


1) At every family celebration where there is a cake of some kind, since pre-1980.

Dad: Should we take a picture of the cake first?

(By this, he means, I'm going to take a picture of the cake. We have a lot of pictures of the cakes we've eaten, and very few of the people eating the cake at the time.


1) (It's a tie.) Fall 2006, at my grandmother's funeral.

Dad: I remember that time we were playing pinochle in butch and granny's kitchen when Betsy was pregnant with Gretzky, and her water broke and granny wanted to finish the hand because it was a good one.