Ode to Mom and Dad on their 50th Anniversary
Presented by Cathy Melton
It started fifty years ago when they jumped the Mississip,
Little did they know, what a wonderful life they would get.
A career as a preacher was what Dad chose to lead,
and six PK' s they proceeded to breed.
The first few homes I don't really recall,
Vague memories of La Monte, that's just about all.
A wasp sting, 3Rs, and church steps to name a few,
A ride in a furnace, a train bench, and headless chickens, too.
Calumet City is where my first memories lie,
and life after that, I can not deny.
A kindergarten through tears and Al's Market on the way,
banana splits, red hot dollars, sputniks, all caused tooth decay.
Lunch with Hostess Snowballs and sandwiches with round bread,
And don't forget when lunch was at church and go home instead.
Overflowing bathtubs, mud-caked bodies were fun,
Tornado-like rainstorms, through them we'd run.
When weather closed school, in the snow we'd play,
Tongues stuck on frozen swing sets, snow angels all day.
'Round the block and in the basement when cold,
Riding bikes and roller skating never got old.
Water-skiing Wolf Lake and Cedar Lake Camp we would go,
A spill at the Dunes, sand from our noses would blow.
It wasn't a lion who stole the hotdogs that day,
It was only a raccoon, we were glad to say.
We had a dog named Pal who was white and black,
Boots was the cat, she run up dad's back.
As she clawed her way up, he'd cringe, squirm, and fuss,
From his shoulder with a sweet purr she then would greet us.
In his truck I once saw Dad while on a field trip in a bus,
With Kids screaming and yelling, yet he never saw us.
He enjoyed games and teasing, he'd play with each kid,
You'd think we'd catch on, but we never did.
Poor pussy, match hairs, who's got the button, were a few,
Stick out behind we'd recite, He'd laugh when we'd do.
Whenever we went somewhere in the car,
We'd have roll call before we went far.
Janice, Becky, Cathy, Rachel, David, and Paul,
When they heard all the names, they knew they had us all.
Water, Water, Water drove Mom and Dad mad,
When we finally outgrew it, they were both glad.
Dad's Tom Thumb stories we loved at bedtime,
"Cause he's only as big as your thumb," he'd say each time.
To put us to sleep, Mom sang us a song,
"Prayer is the key" and we'd sing along.
"Web-footed friends" was lots of fun, too,
"Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning" really rang true.
Mom and Dad were both singers, I'll never forget,
At church on Sunday's they oft sang duet.
I thank them for passing that gift down to me.
Singing praises to God gives me blessed glee.
Dad learned an strange skill, how to hypnotize,
Jan had no resistance, when he said "look deep in my eyes."
We drove down to Florida in '64,
Ocean waves, sharks, everglades, crocks, and birds galore.
Cypress Gardens, a show on water skis,
We even went down to the Florida Keyes.
Then on to California ... here we come,
In our brown Ford, if it runs.
And when Disneyland, I finally did see,
No more need for View Masters, no siree.
I'll never forget that sad dismal day,
The Matterhorn's made of plaster I learned in dismay.
In Anaheim, we lived for a while,
"Get a job" I told Dad, and I did not smile.
What job he would get, he had no clue,
The one he fell into was for selling glue.
We moved to Placentia, a pleasant place,
We all soon grew older, at too fast a pace.
Little did they know, what a wonderful life they would get.
A career as a preacher was what Dad chose to lead,
and six PK' s they proceeded to breed.
The first few homes I don't really recall,
Vague memories of La Monte, that's just about all.
A wasp sting, 3Rs, and church steps to name a few,
A ride in a furnace, a train bench, and headless chickens, too.
Calumet City is where my first memories lie,
and life after that, I can not deny.
A kindergarten through tears and Al's Market on the way,
banana splits, red hot dollars, sputniks, all caused tooth decay.
Lunch with Hostess Snowballs and sandwiches with round bread,
And don't forget when lunch was at church and go home instead.
Overflowing bathtubs, mud-caked bodies were fun,
Tornado-like rainstorms, through them we'd run.
When weather closed school, in the snow we'd play,
Tongues stuck on frozen swing sets, snow angels all day.
'Round the block and in the basement when cold,
Riding bikes and roller skating never got old.
Water-skiing Wolf Lake and Cedar Lake Camp we would go,
A spill at the Dunes, sand from our noses would blow.
It wasn't a lion who stole the hotdogs that day,
It was only a raccoon, we were glad to say.
We had a dog named Pal who was white and black,
Boots was the cat, she run up dad's back.
As she clawed her way up, he'd cringe, squirm, and fuss,
From his shoulder with a sweet purr she then would greet us.
In his truck I once saw Dad while on a field trip in a bus,
With Kids screaming and yelling, yet he never saw us.
He enjoyed games and teasing, he'd play with each kid,
You'd think we'd catch on, but we never did.
Poor pussy, match hairs, who's got the button, were a few,
Stick out behind we'd recite, He'd laugh when we'd do.
Whenever we went somewhere in the car,
We'd have roll call before we went far.
Janice, Becky, Cathy, Rachel, David, and Paul,
When they heard all the names, they knew they had us all.
Water, Water, Water drove Mom and Dad mad,
When we finally outgrew it, they were both glad.
Dad's Tom Thumb stories we loved at bedtime,
"Cause he's only as big as your thumb," he'd say each time.
To put us to sleep, Mom sang us a song,
"Prayer is the key" and we'd sing along.
"Web-footed friends" was lots of fun, too,
"Oh, How I Hate To Get Up In The Morning" really rang true.
Mom and Dad were both singers, I'll never forget,
At church on Sunday's they oft sang duet.
I thank them for passing that gift down to me.
Singing praises to God gives me blessed glee.
Dad learned an strange skill, how to hypnotize,
Jan had no resistance, when he said "look deep in my eyes."
We drove down to Florida in '64,
Ocean waves, sharks, everglades, crocks, and birds galore.
Cypress Gardens, a show on water skis,
We even went down to the Florida Keyes.
Then on to California ... here we come,
In our brown Ford, if it runs.
And when Disneyland, I finally did see,
No more need for View Masters, no siree.
I'll never forget that sad dismal day,
The Matterhorn's made of plaster I learned in dismay.
In Anaheim, we lived for a while,
"Get a job" I told Dad, and I did not smile.
What job he would get, he had no clue,
The one he fell into was for selling glue.
We moved to Placentia, a pleasant place,
We all soon grew older, at too fast a pace.