{"id":7829,"date":"2025-04-06T00:37:13","date_gmt":"2025-04-06T03:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=7829"},"modified":"2025-04-06T00:37:13","modified_gmt":"2025-04-06T03:37:13","slug":"a-toast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dknolte.com\/?p=7829","title":{"rendered":"A toast"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/strong> casually mentioned to my lovely wife, today is my dad’s birthday. She, being the amazing person she is, made the suggestion that I take some of the whiskey he drank and go into the backyard and make a toast to him. Sounded like an excellent idea, so we did just that.<\/p>\n

So, to the man who taught me how to change the oil in a Plymouth, explained to us about tornados and lightning, raised nine kids and survived despite a few of us, taught us going to mass every Sunday was just a part of life, who would talk about his ancestry and his time working in the service of our great country. Who built his final house with his hands and had a desk that was tidy and neat, unlike a few of us. Whose dry sense of humor created the benchmark for our humor, (for those of us who have humor). Who would make a trip to Iowa to get his relatives to gather once a year, telling them the same stories over and over. We salute you.<\/p>\n

This man has left memories in each of us to last a lifetime. Everyone in the family has different stories to tell about him, and I truly wish we could all gather our memories together and record them, and yet I know that would not happen. In truth, everyone who leaves this earth to return Home, leaves memories that we all experience differently, and would fill volumes.<\/p>\n

All we can do, is sit\"\"\u00a0back with a shot of Old Forester whiskey and raise it to the sky, and say, “Thanks, Pop. You did good.”<\/p>\n

Someday each of us will be able to sit next to him again, and hear his stories of growing up in Iowa, and Grandmother Nolte making everything edible with potatoes.<\/p>\n

Then my wife suggested, perhaps the next time some of us gather in the great City of Pampa during the month of March, we should also share a toast to my mother, whose favorite wine was chardonnay, but drank the chillable red box wine.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I feel sorry for those who are not a part of this amazing family.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I casually mentioned to my lovely wife, today is my dad’s birthday. She, being the amazing person she is, made …<\/p>\n

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