Sunday, April 27, 2008

24,090 Days.

I know a very cool guy who has, in 66 years, done a lot of very cool stuff. Witness:

*A one-on-one conversation with Elvis before he was known as "The King."

*A member of 2 bands, one of which has recordings still available, while the other toured as an opening act for a little piano player known as Jerry Lee Lewis.

*Serving our country in the Vietnam War, with tours in both Okinawa, Japan and Bangkok, Thailand, in the Military Advisory Group to the Royal Thai Air Force.

*Graduating from Mississippi State University after returning from duty in the U.S. Air Force.

*Operating & making contact with people worldwide via Ham radio. (Call sign: KD4AR)

*A firm grasp of Biblical knowledge, particulary studies of the end times/Revelation.

*Driving a convertible and riding a Harley-Davidson, without it being a mid-life crisis.

*Picking an accoustic guitar, strumming the base, and playing a mandolin.
(And being modest regarding his talents. The standard, in my book, is a decent performance of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," which he can play. Very well, I might add.)

*Working for the U.S. Government for 42 years, 8 months and 9 days, primarily in Electronic Warfare.

*Marrying the former Mary Elizabeth "Pinky" Raley of Meridian, Mississippi.

*Being my father! (And Eric's, too. And grandfather to Logan, Libbey and Caroline, of course!)
I'd list more of his greatness, but it's appropriate to stop right here. Because really...do you wanna hear about the time I was 17 and he drove 30 minutes in the middle of the night to pick me up because a friend's mother was smoking dope and I was freaked out beyond measure? Yeah, that was a great moment in my book, but not what I wanna go into here. (Dad, do you even remember this?)

So here's to you, Edmund Henry Roth, Jr., or "Sonny," as you're more commonly known. Happy 66th Birthday...I love you forever! (Don't kill me for posting this pic--wearing Lib's wig was definitely one of your finer moments, you know.)



4 comments:

Unknown said...

happy birthday, mr. roth. and i wouldn't kill her, but i might would ground her for a couple weeks.

Pinky Roth said...

This is too funny! When you dad sees this, he will laugh hopefully. I told him to read it as he was famous on your blog...now we both need to get you for putting those pics of us on your blog...

Mom

Debbie said...

That is hilarious! And what a great tribute to your Dad! Happy Birthday "Sonny!"

The Queen's Castle said...

This is too funny. Your dad reminds me a little of my dad. It wasn't too long ago, my 2 daughters & 3 neices had him dressed with a crown, rings, & tulle - a perfect princess he was. You know, I'll need to dig out that picture. You sound like a blessed child of a blessed father :)