"Love at First Spike"

Doug's Van Nuys HS Grad photo

I think this may have been my first no-tears Father's Day. Part of me worries that I'm forgetting things. It's been 12 years, and although, I carry a lot of fond memories, I feel like every day they get a little more distant. It doesn't help that I have a terrible long-term memory.

Today I decided to "remember" my dad through other people's eyes by pulling out my mom's family history book.

From Mom (on meeting Dad for the first time on the vball court):

Let me describe my impression of Doug when we met for the first time. He was tall. "Almost 6'2"" he would say. He had been sailing and working in construction outdoors every day, so he was tan. He carefully combed his thick sun bleached hair up in the front. And he was "big". Muscular, from carrying heavy sliding glass doors up and down many storied buildings all day long. I can still remember when he walked into the gym that first night wearing a yellow and white striped terry pullover shirt and white shorts. I was really impressed. But more important than his appearance...everyone there really liked him. He teased and laughed all night long. His happy jovial personality totally won me over! Doug loved to make people laugh! 30 years later, while giving a talk, he described our first meeting as "Love at first spike."