What did / does your dad do for a living
He's 75 and still works for network rail, he loves it.
shareHe's 75 and still works for network rail, he loves it.
shareHe asked me to leave.
shareMy dad was a cop. He busted some bad drug dealer dudes and roughly beat up some guys that deserved a proper beating but his stand out moments were delivering a baby in the back seat of a car and talking a ‘jumper’ off a big clock tower. That guy nearly jumped but Pop talked him down and got him help.
Dad took pride in never firing his gun, he only pulled his .38 a few times. He was a large, diplomatic and polite Irish fellow and I respect him for that.
Words are much better than bullets.
ETA: late in his cop career he was forced to trade in his Smith and Wesson revolver for a Glock 9 Millie. I don’t trust those semi autos and neither did he. Those semis jam a lot.
The Sig Sauer Ps365 is a clean cycler and fairly accurate if you prefer a semiautomatic pistol.
My father was a stuntman and he performed in many John Wayne movies. He preformed in many other movies too. In his off time he was leather worker and he would create saddles, cowboy boots, wallets and belts among other items. If I wasn't paranoid I would include a link to his IMDb page.
shareInteresting!
Stuntmen are the unsung heroes in the movies.
A guy would have to have gravel in his craw to jump off a cliff or tumble off a horse at full tilt.
how long was he able to do this?
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He was a production manager for a heating/air company.
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My dad was an airplane mechanic and sheet metal worker. He was one of the best according to the people who would know - his colleagues.
He worked in both the hangar on longer repair jobs and also on the line. The line is like the ER of the airline world. As the planes were going out with passengers on board, if something went wrong, he would fix it right then if possible.
One day on the line he was called for a repair job. A large passenger needed the armrest to be removed between two seats. He had to pay for two seats because of his size. My dad walked on board a plane full of passengers and saw the double seat passenger standing there waiting. The double seat man was none other than Andre the Giant!
I can't fly on a plane without getting choked up. They were my dad's world. He loved his job. He lived only two and half years after he retired.
Wow...I couldn't imagine doing what your dad did for a living! A lot of responsibility on his shoulders there...but I bet he was never bored! It sounds like it was just in his blood.
I loved your Andre The Giant story also. One of the most remarkable photos I remember seeing was Andre holding a normal 12-oz can of beer in his hand. It looked so tiny, almost like a toy. He was indeed a giant man.
My dad thrived on his job even though the pressure was no doubt intense. He was at his happiest there. He started his aviation career in the U.S. Navy on aircraft carrier flight decks and was on the USS Forrestal when it exploded in 1967, so I bet the hustle and bustle of an airport was tame by comparison! You are absolutely correct - it was in his blood.
I wish now I had pressed my dad for more details about his experience with Andre the Giant, but I was young and he was a man of few words. He wasn't the type to be star struck and talk about it. If I had asked he probably would've shrugged his shoulders, grunted, and told me to go sweep the driveway. LOL
Hey, thanks for reading and replying. It's like my dad is still with us even though he's been gone 17 years.
I understand how you feel. Thanks to your dad for his service. It was a different world back then in so many ways.
How you described your dad sounds a lot like my dad...ex-military (my dad was ex-Army and fought in Korea), few words, that "blue-collar work attitude," etc. And I feel much the same way about my dad that you do about yours. My dad and I had a complex relationship and I wish I had just one more day where I could have talked to both him and my mom.
Happy 4th Of July to you!
It does sound like we had very similar upbringings and father experiences. I also had a complex relationship with my dad that I am still sorting out to be honest!
I thank your dad for his military service as well, especially his service during the Korean War. I wish you and yours a happy Independence Day!
It was a great story! Thank you for sharing it.
shareUntil he retired a couple years ago my dad was an IT consultant for a software company.
Although he started off his working life in the Royal Navy.