One of my favorite people in the whole wide world turned the big 7-0 this month. Some of you might be thinking it's Brad.... he IS up there but not 70 for 2 or 3 more years. Naw, this birthday boy is my dad. Joseph William Lindsey born December 8, 1940. He was 1 day shy of a year when Pearl Harbor got bombed. How's that for an interesting fact? Well in honor of his 70th...here are 70 more interesting facts about this great guy! I love you dad!
1. Graduated from BYU in 1967 with a Technical Teacher Education degree. He switched from Engineering - they were way too technical, he was more practical.
2. Had a dark room and equipment in our bathroom when I was a kid.
3. He loved to make fun of the pronunciation of song lyrics in our teeny-bopper music. Bay-Bay! He also often asked how you spelled certain sounds in songs (like doo-wop-a-loo-bop -- I don't even know if thats right).
4. He always wears his shoes - ok maybe not to be or into the shower, but seriously it's probably the last thing he takes off before he gets in. My kids were seriously upset with me for not waking them up one night during our family reunion when I saw Grandpa walking around barefoot.
5. Dad is THE single most charitable person I know. He takes care of all sorts of people from the elderly to those with hopeless habits and problems. He loves them, he advises them, he gives his time, he drives them around, he listens... and true to fashion, he never seems put out about it.
6. I'll never forget the time he started laughing over a stupid joke he heard a thousand times at breakfast one morning and milk came spewing out of his nose. There might be those of his acquaintance who would find that sort of behavior totally unbelievable from him. I find it endearing.
7. He and my mom served a mission in Nigeria Africa. They made themselves available to go anywhere. Really? How many people do that? At the time we couldn't even call them or email them, and even snail-mail was questionable.
8. He likes to record old movies off the TV. I'm not talking DVR. I'm talking VCR.
9. Likes to know how things work - and usually does.
10. Can figure out how to fix just about anything. I'm pretty sure I didn't know a repairman existed until college.
11. He will drop anything at anytime for you and, of course, never be put out by it.
12. Fell in love with Mom while she was in the hospital after she had surgery (of course it was while she was wearing a hospital gown, had stitches, a swollen neck and no make up. That's when most guys fall in love right).
13. Never raises his voice. In the 44 years I've known him I can count on one had the times he's done it.
14. Raised 6 girls... nuff said.
15. He likes brainteasers and riddles.
16. He's a word nerd. He always wins at Boggle, Scrabble and the Alphabet game.
17. Worked for 33 years at IBM.
18. He owned a personal computer before it was common practice. Woo Hoo! for the TRS-80
19. He knows how to cut a rug. You should see he and Mom swing dance.
20. He taught seminary for 4 years. He believes it was to prepare him to become a bishop.
21. Served as bishop for 5 years in the 7th Ward.
22. He doesn't try to be hip and cool, but he is. I had several friends when I was young, tell me they thought my dad was good looking. I had one person tell me he looks like Matt Damon.
23. Dad wears a Tilly Hat (ask him about it).
24. Takes great pictures. You should see all the slides he took over the years.
25. Loves to wander around Home Depot. He could go for a few small screws and be gone for 3 hours.
26. Likes Sour Cream Pound Cake and Ice-box Cake.
27. Doesn't like satin comforters or sheets. He says they snag the dry spots on his fingers.
28. Is the best grandpa around. He is totally interested in each grandchild and does cool things for them, like make them movies and books about their time together.
29. Knows how to work.
30. Occasionally works to certify people to work on electronic equipment used in space. That technical teaching degree really did come in handy.
31. Is goofy.
32. He's from Pennsylvania.
33. He used to come home from work while we were all glued to the TV and stop at the edge of the room, and wave to each kid individually and say, "Hello all around". It's still one of the most quoted family sayings to this day.
34. Once told me his favorite color was white. I couldn't imagine such a thing.
35. Has an amazing memory.
36. He loves maps.
37. His hand shake will knock your socks off. Mom had to tell him to tone it down a little bit.
38. Made the entertainment center/storage cupboards in their family room.
40. Wrote letters to me (and all the other missionaries serving from our ward) every week while I was on my mission.
41. Didn't have to wear glasses until he was in his 50's.
42. Doesn't believe what commercials say about their products (he's probably mostly right)
43. Doesn't like McDonalds.
44. Can concentrate much better and work much harder if he sticks his tongue out.
45. He went to the ground breaking of the Oakland temple while he was serving a mission in Northern California.
46. Likes museums, historical sights and landmarks.
47. Likes to toss a ball around.
48. Doesn't like chapstick, and won't use it even if is lips are about to fall off. Another most memorable family moment is when we threatened to rub Blistex all over his body
49. Does a family spotlight through email called, "Talented Grandchildren", where he has a picture, a recording or a video of something his grandchildren have done.
50. He has had all colors of hair through his lifetime (except red); blonde when he was a baby, brown as a boy, black as a young dad, gray as an older dad and white as a grandpa (some may say he has skin colored hair too).
51. He's the homemade rootbeer king - even has his own bottle capper.
52. Had carpel-tunnel surgery on both wrists.
53. Likes to have his back scratched. But also has an itchy spot on his back that spurs it on.
54. Has high cholesterol.
55. We used to call the stuff he put in his hair "hair goop" (really gross, and I never thought about it until I was an adult).
56. Enjoys puttering (in the yard, in the garage, in the office, at the computer).
57. Is a treasure trove of information. Try it, ask him anything.
58. We used to laugh when he spoke in church because he would always play with the keys in his pocket.
59. Laughs hard at dumb things and crinkles his nose when doing so.
60. Likes jigsaw puzzles.
61. His seminary students were shocked the first time they saw him in jeans (I think they thought he ALWAYS wore a suit).
62. Loves to go geo-caching.
63. He loves rootbeer and has his own personal stash of it in the pantry.
64. Always loads the dishwasher and is an expert at fitting a every dish in.
65. When you enter his house he will tell you "You are welcome" (meaning you are welcome in my house) this is carry over from Nigeria.
66. If mom wasn't around to make food he would probably live on stale pretzels or whatever else was laying around.
67. He's never cold.
68. Always has a little stash of chocolate - and a bag can last for weeks (how does he do that?).
69. Likes camping and hiking.
70. Pretty nearly perfect in my mind!
