Leo Romano – driver 32

Today is my fathers 70th birthday.  I think about what he would have done on this day if he were still alive.  He didn’t like to make a fuss but he probably would have enjoyed watching a race with mom, seeing and listening to the grand kids playing,  a family dinner at home and a poker game with his buddies.

I remember on his 65th birthday he was travelling through Nevada and California with my mom.  Seeing a travel opportunity and a chance to be in the same city as my parents, Christian and I decided to surprise them by showing up in Las Vegas to spend 24 hours together.  I will never forget the look on their faces when we greeted them under the Eiffel Tower at the Paris hotel.  That day, he taught me to play Caribbean Stud poker, my mom and I spun the Wheel at the Price is Right, we watched a cirque show and enjoyed a few wonderful meals together.  Little did I know that they would both be gone only a few years later.

So here is my list of things to do today to celebrate dad:

• open the hood of the car and smell the engine – CHECK
• eat an olive – CHECK
• buy a tool at Canadian Tire – CHECK
• Whistle the last notes of the baseball Charge theme and yell Papa! instead of Charge! – CHECK
• take a nap – CHECK
• fix a lamp by taking it apart and fiddling – CHECK
• watch Boston Legal – CHECK
• make a tower of dishes / bowls and cups at the dinner table – CHECK
• talk to my sisters – CHECK
• put a comb in my back pocket – CHECK
• listen to Elvis (heck, I’ll even wear my Elvis wig) – CHECK
• fling chocolate from a spoon into the kids mouths – CHECK

I miss him very much.