Dear Father...
Teamster Brother
Faithful Friend


Father's Day has come and gone and with every advertisement or card I saw leading up to the big day, I was reminded that Teamster Daddy has gone on to the Big Brotherhood in the Sky.

He never acted like he wanted a present. But when he received them, he acted surprised and like our choice was perfect (although we knew it never really was) and said in his near-Elvis Presley accent, "You shouldn't have spent your money on me. You should have bought something for yourself." Now, that was love.

His birthday is around the corner too. So, I thought it was a good time to share the song Teamster Daughter #1 picked to be played at his funeral. It's a traditional Bahamian gospel song sung by Aaron Neville and seemed like the perfect homage to a dedicated Teamster Brother, Faithful Friend, and Teamster Daddy.

I remember a lot of things that T-Daddy did to make me feel special.

He taught me how to ride a bike, use a hammer, wrench and drill or any other tool in the box. He even taught me how to shoot a shotgun. But my NRA days were short lived after the first gun kick in the shoulder that knocked me backwards t the ground.

That wasn't the first time Teamster Daddy taught me how to get back up, wipe myself off and try again. The first was during a horseback riding lesson but I'll share that later. For now, I'll keep it simple. Since simple things are what most father/daughter memories are made of.

Despite all the grand things T-Daddy brought our way, it was always the little things that meant the the most...If fathers only knew....

Here's the song:

I Bid You Goodnight

Lay down my dear Brother,
lay down and take your rest
I want to lay your head upon your Savior's breast
I love you, but Jesus loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Lay down my dear Brother,
lay down and take your rest
I want to lay your head upon your Savior's breast
I love you, but Jesus loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Lay down my dear brother,
lay down and take your rest
I wanna lay your head upon your Saviors breast
I love you, but Jesus loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight

Good night Teamster Daddy. Happy Father's Day.

Teamsters and Tractors

I guess driving a 18 wheel rig 18 hours straight down a lonesome highway isn't enough for some Teamster Brothers. Lots of Teamsters my Daddy knew had another tractor sitting somewhere on their property. In our case, we had lots of machinery sitting around our yard at any given moment. If it wasn't an antique John Deere then it was an antique something.

Take the yard art that showed up unexpectedly one morning when T-Daddy had been rummaging around parts unknown for the latest in his heavy metal collection. My personal favorite was the infamous hog oiler that we had to paint red and black in order to match the more easily identified corn planter. Many a family photo reflect these two personal favorites Teamster Daddy brought home one day to the horror of Teamster Wife.

With no sons in the family to mow the yard or paint any home improvement project, the task often fell to Teamster Daughters who had to learn the hard way as Teamster Parents would say. That built character. So when it was time to paint the hog oiler and the corn planter (and the dog house while we were at it) Teamster Daughters stepped up the challenge. Much to Teamster Wife's chagrin, afterwards they each came inside covered from head to toe in black and red paint. Rumor had it that the paint soaked through to their underwear.

But the real work came when it was time to move the antiques around in the side yard in order to mow the patch of grass that would inevitably sprout after a long, hard Tennessee rainfall. TD#1, 2 & 3 learned teamwork that way. They all had to muscle up and push the hog oiler together because that thing was heavy. Not to mention slippery when full of rainwater which sloshed and soaked them each time. Moving the corn planter was an easier feat. And over time, it became a cherished prop used in many photo shoots when company came. You never knew what you would find on Teamster Drive.

I guess John Deere would have been proud of Teamster Daddy for keeping his farming legacy alive. T-Daddy sure was proud of each and every antique prize. Maybe he was dreaming of unionizing farmers, but he had enough on his hands as it was.

There's a little bit of the past in all of us. But for Teamster Family...it just happen to wind up in the yard.

Teamster Wife Bored with Teamster Life?

It was a hot Teamster summer and Teamster Wife was getting restless. Bored with the usual T-Wife tasks of laying out Teamster Daddy's clothes and cooking Teamster approved meals, she decided it was time to spice up more than the latest craze of DIY (do-it-yourself) tacos. Teamster Wife decided it was time to shake things up.

Somehow she'd stumbled across an advertisement for exotic Belly Dancing Lessons in the local community paper. With a bit of trepidation, she asked herself: Could I? Would I? And the answer was an astounding yes!

This latest innovative idea was the answer to what a Teamster Wife needs to remind herself that there was more to life than taking care of others. In a Teamster Home as well as a normal family home, the mother often takes a back seat to the family needs. Not this T-Wife. She knew in order to give more of herself to others, she'd need to give herself a treat from time to time.

But this event was happening back in the day where T-Wives had to ask permission to do certain things. And with the brow raising belly dancing activities of removing layers of veils from one's body, T-Wife knew she'd better run it by T-Daddy or he'd come looking for someone to blame.

Permission granted, T-Wife took off once a week for group lessons and upon return each night, she'd put on the recommended belly dancing album and practice in front of T-daughters and give them pseudo-instructions. TD#1 was definitely not interested in watching the Madonna-like behavior of her Mommy. TD#3 was too young to care, but TD#2 was fascinated and often snuck in her jewelry box to try on the finger cymbals and dance around like an aspiring belly dancer herself when no one was looking.

Then came the big night in late September when all aspriring belly dancing wives would get to show their stuff and strike a pose. Teamster Wife's recital was somehow a rite of passage into a mysterious world of self. Accompanied by TD#2, T-Wife strutted and spun and danced her way into the hearts of her audience at some forgotten location on Nolensville Road. But the memory of the moment will never be forgotten. This Teamster Wife would never become a Desperate Housewife. She had too many classes yet to conquer and a stack of new Belly Dancing albums waiting for her by the hi-fi stereo cabinet at home.

The Grenada and the Gran Torino (i.e. Ford Elite)

When the eldest Teamster Daughters hit age 16 they were sent out in the working world to earn their wage and learn the value of a hard earned dollar. Demands were being made for use of the family car. Teamster Wife couldn' be in three or four places at once picking the girls up.

They pled their case to Teamster Daddy and one day out of the blue a procession of cars pulled into Jade Drive. Led by the Lincoln Towncar, two of Teamster Daddy's cronies were dutifully following driving both a Ford Grenada and a Ford (Gran Torino) Elite. Both cars were beige.

The Teamster Family was summoned outside and lined up on the patio. The T-Daughter's were given their set of car keys, payment book and a lecture about car ownership, insurance, upkeep, the value of a dollar and how hard work never hurt anybody. After all, hard work was important to Teamster Daddy you know.

Both T-Daughters took their cars for a spin around the block. By this time the neighbors were starting to stop their mowing and stare. One threw his hand up and asked T- Daddy what dealership did he get the cars from? But T-Daddy was evasive. Many items in our home that materialized out of his trunk had seemed to fall off the back of a truck - but these cars how could he pull that off?

How Teamster Daddy determined who got which car is beyond comprehension, did he assign the cars to fit the Teamster Daughters' personalities? TD#1 was driving 4 door sedan, but by God TD#2 was driving a bonafide muscle car with a V8 engine, power brakes, steering, door locks and windows .

The boys in her high school class flipped when she pulled into the parking lot driving a car similar to what Starsky and Hutch were driving on the tube. The Grenda got a little less notice. The boys who were afraid to approach Teamster Daughters before were now tripping that their T-Daddy brought home two cars that seemed to appear out of thin air and simply toss the keys across the driveway. How they wished they had a T-Daddy like that. They didn't realize TD#1 and #2 did not have any say in what car they would choose to drive at 16 and17. But boy did they have "hot" wheels.

TD#3 had 7 years till she turned 16 and couldn't wait to find out what her T-ride would be. As it turned out when that time came - Teamster Daddy was long gone and struggling Teamster Wife bought her a Cheverolet Chevette which was dubbed "Puff the Tragic Wagon" by the family because it broke down all the time. The Chevette was quickly kicked to the junkyard curb and Teamster Daughter's ride was redeemed by TD#3's choice of a bright orange VW bug. However, it did not have the bravado of the Ford Elite, but was a fitting ride for the new face of Gen-X Teamster Daughters.