Thursday, April 19, 2012

Seven Years Gone

I'm thinking of my dad today, on this the 7th anniversary of his passing.  Not that today is any different from any other day, I often think of him. 

It's funny what you remember about a person.  Just one of the things I remember about my dad was that he was always a snappy dresser.  My dad loved to dress up, whether it was a tuxedo on New Year's Eve or a fancy suit for a wedding or other festive occasion (always with a matching "puff"/scarf in his breast pocket to match his tie), or a shirt and tie under his dental coat at work. 

Nevertheless, one of my favourite pictures of him features this particular outfit, one that is famous in our family (pictured here circa 1972, I'm guessing) - the buffalo bathing suit.

Have you ever seen bathing trunks like this? I certainly never have, before or since.

Except, now that I look at this picture more closely, I'm wondering if maybe it isn't buffaloes on that bathing suit, as I have always thought all these years, maybe it's bulls?  Can't read the writing, which could be about a bull fight, who knows? Both breeds have horns, so it's hard to say. Here's a closeup (that sweet little baby-faced boy is my younger brother Jay):

It definitely looks more like bulls than buffaloes to me today.  But all these years, I thought they were buffaloes?! 

It's funny what you remember, even if your memories might be slightly inaccurate or distorted over time.  More importantly, I remember how much I loved him and that doesn't change.