Today would have been my father’s 89th birthday. He passed away in 2011, and though I’ve always thought about him often, I think of him even more frequently since my mom died last summer. The world never made any sense with just one of them in it.
But: in honor of the occasion, today’s Five for Friday is focused on some of my father’s favorite things. Hug the people you love, then read on.
- Since we’re at the height of apple season (and since my dad loved dessert), here are 50 thing to make with apples.
- Did you know that fall is actually a great time for planting strawberries, in many areas of the country? Do the hard work now and you’ll have an early spring crop. Pro tip from my father’s garden: water the transplants well and insulate their roots with a thick layer of straw. Then rake it back when the weather warms up and you’re good to go.
- Dad may well have been the world’s biggest Dolly Parton fan, but I’m pretty sure even he didn’t know these 10 things about her. (I’m positive he didn’t know about her connection to Dolly the cloned sheep.)
- Later this evening, we’ll know whether the Royals are headed to the World Series for the second year in a row. Nate Silver gives them a 60% chance of facing the Mets next week. This would have posed a dilemma for my dad, when deciding who to root for: he almost always supported the underdog, but it would have been really hard for him to get behind a New York team (especially if that team was facing off against a Midwestern franchise.) Maybe I should root for Toronto tonight. No question who my dad would have rooted for in that match-up.
- And finally, don’t miss this clip of Bradley Cooper doing an impersonation of Clint Eastwood feeding squirrels. I don’t know what it is about squirrels and gentlemen of a certain age, but they seem to have a bond–my dad actually trained a backyard squirrel to climb his pant leg and eat a cookie while sitting on his knee.
See you Monday!
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