Normally, I would not respond, dread every moment beforehand, and just "get through" anytime my dad drives me anywhere. Because he always has an ulterior motive. This time I was glad he wanted to come. I usually enjoy long drives by myself, but I welcomed the thought of having another human along for this trip. So we arranged a time and when I was back from work and he was ready to go.
His ulterior motives were: Pepperidge Farms and visiting his old friend. My dad loves to go to Pepperidge Farms in Logan and stock up on their cookies, available in bulk. "Dad, which would you say you came to Logan for mostly: to visit Tom or get cookies from Pepperidge Farms?"
"To visit Tom."
When he said this I was kind of sad he didn't say Pepperidge Farms because that would be awesome. But then I let what he said sink. My dad is a good person.
Seriously though. My dad is the best.
Why my dad is cooler than your dad:
1. He knows everything about the surrounding areas he's lived or frequently traveled.
for example, we were driving through this random canyon and I asked him what the name of the canyon was. "Sardine Canyon." Whaaa?
2. If you want to know a phone number to any local grocery store, neighbor, relative, or other location he may have called at least once in the past, he'll tell you the number.
3. He knows everything about our ancestors and their life stories. We drove through a town near Logan where my Great-great-grandpa first settled after he came to the SL Valley. He proceeded to tell me his life story and the stories of his descendants that stayed behind in Logan. (My great-great-grandpa is the reason you are alive. He built mills in cities where your ancestors probably lived, which fed them and therefore kept them alive and therefore allowed you to exist.)
4. He sticks with people. (I am the worst at this.) He has stayed in contact with a friend he's had since his freshman year in HS. He baptized him into the church when they were 18 but he turned atheist a few years later, which would be a heck of a reason to not want to be someone's friend anymore! Ew, right? But here they are, in their 50's, still friends. That is a big heart right there.
5. He lets me listen to songs like "Bleeding Love," "So Complicated," "Big Girls Don't Cry" and "Already Gone" on the radio and pretends to like them. "Who sings this?" is usually a good sign that he can handle it. Silence means change it.
6. He has me for a daughter!
and oh my HECK we felt an earthquake while we were up there! A 5.0 magnituder hit Randolph, which was like 50 miles east of us. We were sitting down at a restaurant and we felt like the ground under our chairs was moooving. it felt like this: Ssshhakkke shake ....shaakkkkee. "Did you feel that?" I asked my dad. "That must have been an earthquake" he responded, then told me about the last time he felt an earthquake, 35 years ago in Mexico.
Oh by the way. My interview went AWESOME. The guy I interviewed with is my mom's 2nd cousin. After realizing this connection I felt totally at ease, like I was talking to my cousin. and I was. We left Logan 4 hours after my interview ended because I decided to make my dad's ulterior motives my own ulterior motives too. And it was just what I needed in my life right now, something totally unseemly. Love you dad, even though you never read my blog and that is probably good because I mostly make fun of you. (each word is a different story. Just click one. Promise you'll laugh.)
