the Seventy First Story

The first winter I was in Boston, My father had just moved to Miami. There was one really brutal week up north where the highs (not including windchill) didn't make it up to 0 degrees. At one point during the week we were talking on the phone, and the weather came up. He started in about how it was cold down south, too, and all the fancy ladies had broken out their fur coats. I asked him how cold it was. He said it had gotten down to nearly 40 one night. That remains the only time I've sworn at my Dad.

the Forty Second Story

When I dropped out of Oberlin, I called up my mother first. This decision was based soley on the fact that she, too, had taken the long route to graduation, so I figured she'd understand. I told her I had dropped out, she asked if I planned to go back, I said yes, and that was that. I didn't manage to get in touch with my dad till that night, and somehow, either through mom or my brother, he had heard before I got a chance to talk with him. I hadn't even said anything, and he was terribly upset- it sounded, over the phone, as though he might be crying. My dad doesn't cry. This was disturbing. We talked around in circles for a bit before he blurted out "But why did you have to elope? You could have told us, we would have supported you!" I was baffled. I had no idea what was going on. I assured my father that I was not married, nor was I knocked up. It wasn't until later that I made the connection that, progressive as he may be in his thoughts, in the world he was raised in those are the only reasons a woman drops out of school.

The Thirty Third Story

Another Christmas Story: I love the concept of the christmas tree. The first year I had my own apartment, in Oberlin, I went out and got one as soon as they went on sale. I brought it home. I leaned it against a wall. I called my Dad. The only words I said were "Dad, I have a problem" without pause, he responded "Five gallon bucket, gravel from the drive way" I said thanks and hung up. I swear to god, I hadn't even told him I was getting a tree.

The thirty first story

Today: A story from when my parents were dating- this one has been independently verified by both parties, and they're very differently styled storytellers, so I believe that this story is true in all its details.
My Dad is Jewish. My Mom is... not. Who knows what she is- she was raised some branch of protestant, and believes in santa claus, but not in god. Regardless, she loves Christmas. For a long time during their courtship, my Dad worked for the army and lived in a shack in the Arizona desert. Mom wasn't a desert person, but she would visit regularly. One of these times she arrived very very late on christmas eve. Dad didn't have a tree. Mom was upset. I get different ideas of how upset from each of them- Dad says she was reasonable, she says she was not. Regardless, the end result was Dad, breaking into the base to steal a christmas tree from the lot, tossing it back out over the barbed wire topped fence.

the fourth story

Another short story- this one is a family legend and may or may not be true. I suspect it is "based on a true story".

Before my parents had me, they had Tate and Flower. Tate was a german shepard/collie mix of unknown provenance. Flower was a very small black and white long haired mutt who they'd adopted from a friend. At the time of this story, they, and my parents, were living in very rural Pennsylvania, and the dogs were allowed to go out and wander at will. One day, Tate came back without Flower. This was truly odd- they were a pretty good pack, and stuck together reliably. My Dad was home, and swears that Tate "did the Lassie thing". He didn't pay attention at first- Mom was the one who usually listened to the dogs- but Tate was insistent, and eventually, he got worried about where Flower might be, and followed. They walked for a while, and finally arrived at a rabbit hole. Which Tate barked at, vigorously. Dad, now a bit upset to have been brought all this way just to help bark at a rabbit, started to walk away. Then he heard the rabbit bark back, from down in the hole. Tate started digging at the hole, Dad went and got a shovel, and between the two of them, they dug down and released Flower from where the rabbits were holding her hostage.