So I had this random thought the other day. You can find anything on the Internet. You can Google or yahoo anything and find anything on anyone. So I decided to yahoo my Dad, Paul Brinkman.
I found that there are many people named Paul Brinkman. 25 on Linked in. 50 on Facebook. None of them were my Dad. He died in 2002.
I decided to get more specific. So I added his middle name, Parmalee. Paul Parmalee Brinkman. I expected nothing. I expected that there would be no hits on his full name. But one came up. It seems that someone had written about my Dad. It was his son. It was me. I wrote about him in 2007. Here is the link http://canyouhearthebirdssing.blogspot.com/search?q=parmalee
Well, I hope that someday when I am gone and forgotten, my son will write about me. Frankly, that will be enough. Today, I honor my father, Paul Parmalee Brinkman. It's not his birthday, but I honor him just the same.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query parmalee. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query parmalee. Sort by date Show all posts
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Happy Birthday, Dad!
October 3rd 1927. Paul Parmalee Brinkman Jr. was born. I didn't know him when he was young, but I learned later than he grew up poor. He used to take the streetcar out to Waldo, which at the time was the end of the universe. He graduated from SW High in Kansas City. He served in the Navy during WW2, developing pictures of the first atomic bomb. After the war, he attended Drury college, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering and a young wife, Mary.
Dad was a loner. His nickname growing up was "Pooh" like Winnie the Pooh. As a father, he was pretty distant. He worked long hours and I didn't see him much.
But, somehow, he delivered the goods to his son. He taught me how to work. He helped shape my faith. He taught me a myriad of old sayings and wise thoughts about life.
I got to know Dad a lot better after mom died in 1995. We had seven years together after that. From 1995 until he died in 2002, Dad was a member of the Woods Chapel UMC. He led the first 8:30 singing group, and he had a lot of ideas for his son about what makes a good sermon.
In February of 2002 I was on the church ski trip with the kids. They were 10, 12 and 14. At about 11pm on Saturday night, Cathy called to say that Dad was in the hospital. Heart attack or stroke, he was on life support at Research. Doug H and another young man drove me from Glenwood Springs to Denver. We arrived at the airport at 2am. When the kids woke up, Doug was there in the room to tell them what happened and to take care of them. I will never be able to repay him what he did for my kids that day. I sat in the terminal until 5:30 and left on the first flight to KC. Cathy picked me up at the airport. We went to the hospital and said goodbye to Dad.
Tons of friends from Woods Chapel attended his funeral. Dad is buried next to Mom in Mt. Washington Cemetery in Independence. I miss him.
But, I thank God for every day that I had with him, and all of the good that he brought to my life. Be sure to appreciate your loved ones everyday that God gives you with them.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Dad was a loner. His nickname growing up was "Pooh" like Winnie the Pooh. As a father, he was pretty distant. He worked long hours and I didn't see him much.
But, somehow, he delivered the goods to his son. He taught me how to work. He helped shape my faith. He taught me a myriad of old sayings and wise thoughts about life.
I got to know Dad a lot better after mom died in 1995. We had seven years together after that. From 1995 until he died in 2002, Dad was a member of the Woods Chapel UMC. He led the first 8:30 singing group, and he had a lot of ideas for his son about what makes a good sermon.
In February of 2002 I was on the church ski trip with the kids. They were 10, 12 and 14. At about 11pm on Saturday night, Cathy called to say that Dad was in the hospital. Heart attack or stroke, he was on life support at Research. Doug H and another young man drove me from Glenwood Springs to Denver. We arrived at the airport at 2am. When the kids woke up, Doug was there in the room to tell them what happened and to take care of them. I will never be able to repay him what he did for my kids that day. I sat in the terminal until 5:30 and left on the first flight to KC. Cathy picked me up at the airport. We went to the hospital and said goodbye to Dad.
Tons of friends from Woods Chapel attended his funeral. Dad is buried next to Mom in Mt. Washington Cemetery in Independence. I miss him.
But, I thank God for every day that I had with him, and all of the good that he brought to my life. Be sure to appreciate your loved ones everyday that God gives you with them.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Monday, October 3, 2016
My Dad
On October 3rd 1927, Paul Parmalee Brinkman Jr. was born. I didn't know him when he was young, but I learned later than he grew up poor. He used to take the streetcar out to Waldo, which at the time was the end of the universe. He graduated from SW High in Kansas City. He served in the Navy during WW2, developing pictures of the first atomic bomb. After the war, he attended Drury college, graduating with a degree in mechanical engineering and a young wife named Mary.
Dad was a loner. His nickname growing up was "Pooh" like Winnie the Pooh. As a father, he was pretty distant. He worked long hours and I didn't see him much.
But, somehow, he delivered the goods to his son. He taught me how to work. He helped shape my faith. He taught me a myriad of old sayings and wise thoughts about life.
I got to know Dad a lot better after mom died in 1995. We had seven years together after that. From 1995 until he died in 2002, Dad was a member of the Woods Chapel UMC. He led the first 8:30 singing group, and he had a lot of ideas for his son about what makes a good sermon.
In February of 2002 I was on the church ski trip with the kids. They were 10, 12 and 14. At about 11pm on Saturday night, Cathy called to say that Dad was in the hospital. Heart attack or stroke, he was on life support at Research. Doug H and another young man drove me from Glenwood Springs to Denver. We arrived at the airport at 2am. When the kids woke up, Doug was there in the room to tell them what happened and to take care of them. I will never be able to repay him what he did for my kids that day. I sat in the terminal until 5:30 and left on the first flight to KC. Cathy picked me up at the airport. We went to the hospital and said goodbye to Dad.
Tons of friends from Woods Chapel attended his funeral. Dad is buried next to Mom in Mt. Washington Cemetery in Independence. I miss him.
But, I thank God for every day that I had with him, and all of the good that he brought to my life. Be sure to appreciate your loved ones everyday that God gives you with them.
Dad was a loner. His nickname growing up was "Pooh" like Winnie the Pooh. As a father, he was pretty distant. He worked long hours and I didn't see him much.
But, somehow, he delivered the goods to his son. He taught me how to work. He helped shape my faith. He taught me a myriad of old sayings and wise thoughts about life.
I got to know Dad a lot better after mom died in 1995. We had seven years together after that. From 1995 until he died in 2002, Dad was a member of the Woods Chapel UMC. He led the first 8:30 singing group, and he had a lot of ideas for his son about what makes a good sermon.
In February of 2002 I was on the church ski trip with the kids. They were 10, 12 and 14. At about 11pm on Saturday night, Cathy called to say that Dad was in the hospital. Heart attack or stroke, he was on life support at Research. Doug H and another young man drove me from Glenwood Springs to Denver. We arrived at the airport at 2am. When the kids woke up, Doug was there in the room to tell them what happened and to take care of them. I will never be able to repay him what he did for my kids that day. I sat in the terminal until 5:30 and left on the first flight to KC. Cathy picked me up at the airport. We went to the hospital and said goodbye to Dad.
Tons of friends from Woods Chapel attended his funeral. Dad is buried next to Mom in Mt. Washington Cemetery in Independence. I miss him.
But, I thank God for every day that I had with him, and all of the good that he brought to my life. Be sure to appreciate your loved ones everyday that God gives you with them.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Thoughts on my father
Dad was born in 1927. He grew up in the middle of the depression. His parents were poor, tho sadly his mother was very wealthy growing up. They lost their money and my grandmother was never a very happy person. Too bad.
Dad's parents did not go to college. His mom stayed at home and his dad was a contractor and worked at the local lumber yard. As soon as he was old enough, they put dad to work. Back then, if you didn't know how to work, you were in for a hard life. That is still true today, tho a lot of people don't seem to get it.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Dad tried to enlist. They told him to come back when he was old enough. He served in the Navy towards the end of the war, processing sailors who were coming back from overseas duty. Later he was transferred to Washington DC where he worked in a military photo lab. He processed the first pictures of the atomic bomb.
After Dad was discharged, he attended KU and Drury on the GI bill. He likes to tell the story of drinking his first beer at Romanelli's in Waldo.
At Drury, Dad studied engineering and my Mom. She was the Sig Ep sweetheart one year, and was quite a catch, Dad would say. After Dad graduated, Mom left school and they got married. They moved to KC where Dad held a number of jobs. It was hard for him to keep a job for very long because he was drinking so much.
With two kids in tow, they moved to Midland Michigan where Dad worked at Dow chemical company. By the time we left Michigan their final child, my little sister was born. My first memories of life are in Midland Michigan.
I guess it was bad in Midland, Mom used to tell about how his boss would call and ask where he was at. Mom thought he had gone to work. When ever this phone call came in, she always found him drunk in the local park. Finally, Mom sat Dad down and told him that is he didn't stop drinking that she was going to divorce him.
Mom drank. In fact Mom made her own beer and wine her whole life. But Dad just couldn't do it without losing control. For most of the next 35 years Dad stayed sober thru AA.
Dad stayed to himself. He worked 60+ hours every week. He never came to any of my baseball games and really was not involved with any of us kids until we had grown up.
He sent us all to college, and later in life was good to sit and visit with. He stood by Mom and took care of her when she came down with cancer and died in 1995.
Dad loved Cathy. That meant a lot to me.
Its odd, but my best years with Dad were after Mom passed. We had lunch pretty regularly and he finally started coming out of his shell. I still remember the Easter Sunday afternoon in 1996, after being in church with us that morning, he called me over and said, "Son I am proud of you and I love you."
Dad died suddenly in 2002. He had a heart attack in the parking lot of Romanelli's in Waldo.
I miss my dad. For all of his faults, he taught me a lot of good things. He taught me how to work. He taught me how to treat people with respect. He taught me the skills of a carpenter and a plumber. He was a Christian man.
When I was in my 20's I blamed my problems on him. Maybe all 20 year olds do.
I am way past that now. I am so thankful for a man who went to church with us every time that he could. I am thankful for a man who loved me and was finally able to say it. I take this moment to honor my father, Paul Parmalee Brinkman, Jr.
Thank you, Dad. I love you too and I am proud of you.
It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Dad's parents did not go to college. His mom stayed at home and his dad was a contractor and worked at the local lumber yard. As soon as he was old enough, they put dad to work. Back then, if you didn't know how to work, you were in for a hard life. That is still true today, tho a lot of people don't seem to get it.
When Pearl Harbor was bombed, Dad tried to enlist. They told him to come back when he was old enough. He served in the Navy towards the end of the war, processing sailors who were coming back from overseas duty. Later he was transferred to Washington DC where he worked in a military photo lab. He processed the first pictures of the atomic bomb.
After Dad was discharged, he attended KU and Drury on the GI bill. He likes to tell the story of drinking his first beer at Romanelli's in Waldo.
At Drury, Dad studied engineering and my Mom. She was the Sig Ep sweetheart one year, and was quite a catch, Dad would say. After Dad graduated, Mom left school and they got married. They moved to KC where Dad held a number of jobs. It was hard for him to keep a job for very long because he was drinking so much.
With two kids in tow, they moved to Midland Michigan where Dad worked at Dow chemical company. By the time we left Michigan their final child, my little sister was born. My first memories of life are in Midland Michigan.
I guess it was bad in Midland, Mom used to tell about how his boss would call and ask where he was at. Mom thought he had gone to work. When ever this phone call came in, she always found him drunk in the local park. Finally, Mom sat Dad down and told him that is he didn't stop drinking that she was going to divorce him.
Mom drank. In fact Mom made her own beer and wine her whole life. But Dad just couldn't do it without losing control. For most of the next 35 years Dad stayed sober thru AA.
Dad stayed to himself. He worked 60+ hours every week. He never came to any of my baseball games and really was not involved with any of us kids until we had grown up.
He sent us all to college, and later in life was good to sit and visit with. He stood by Mom and took care of her when she came down with cancer and died in 1995.
Dad loved Cathy. That meant a lot to me.
Its odd, but my best years with Dad were after Mom passed. We had lunch pretty regularly and he finally started coming out of his shell. I still remember the Easter Sunday afternoon in 1996, after being in church with us that morning, he called me over and said, "Son I am proud of you and I love you."
Dad died suddenly in 2002. He had a heart attack in the parking lot of Romanelli's in Waldo.
I miss my dad. For all of his faults, he taught me a lot of good things. He taught me how to work. He taught me how to treat people with respect. He taught me the skills of a carpenter and a plumber. He was a Christian man.
When I was in my 20's I blamed my problems on him. Maybe all 20 year olds do.
I am way past that now. I am so thankful for a man who went to church with us every time that he could. I am thankful for a man who loved me and was finally able to say it. I take this moment to honor my father, Paul Parmalee Brinkman, Jr.
Thank you, Dad. I love you too and I am proud of you.
It is a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)