Belated Birthday

Happy birthday to my dad. His birthday was September 2 and I was remiss in not acknowledging it sooner.

Dad's birthday was always an interesting occasion, coming so close around the Labor Day holiday. That was the unofficial end to summer vacation, and more importantly, the start of another school year. My dad was a teacher as well, so this was our last celebration before getting back into the work routine.

When I was a kid, we would often travel over to Eugene Oregon where my grandparents lived. My dad also had two brothers that lived in the area. All of the families would go to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour. (Farrell's is Fabulous Fun For Everyone). And we would order the Zoo. That was a gigantic silver bowl that was piled high with scoops of every flavor of ice cream you can think of. It weighed about 6 pounds and had to be carried by two people on a stretcher.

If you want to get a picture of what that was like, it's in a Simpson's episode. Matt Groening grew up in Portland, so he was familiar with Farrell's. In his versions, Homer and the kids go to Phineas Q. Butterfat's Ice Cream Parlor. When their order comes out, carried by four teenagers, one of them intones: "And God said, 'Gather ye two of every flavor, anoint them with 62 sauces,whipped cream, and nuts, and ye shall call it The Ark'"!

Fun times. Happy Birthday dad.