Tribute to My Dad on His 53rd Birthday

-Feburary 11th-

Many of you who know my dad could believe that he isn’t the easiest person to give a birthday gift to. He never wants anything and if he has a need or a want he will never tell you. My dad would rather go without or work hard to get it. For example… a couple of years ago I got him a couple of “hoodies” for Christmas because the one (Panguitch High Wrestling Sweatshirt) he frequently wears has seen better days. He was of course grateful for my gift but then gave them back to me stating he didn’t need them and that I could probably use the money for something else! So…needless to say I’m taking a different approach this year to his birthday. Sorry dad…you are going to have to put up with that tattered sweatshirt one more year! :-)

So here’s the deal….I would like to pay tribute to my dad by sharing with friends and family some little unknown stories or facts about him…and these are of course many of the reasons why I love him! Feel free to add to the email in honor of him on his special day!

1) When I was little He made a deal with me and my other siblings. Apparently when he was younger Gramps and Grandma would take the whole family to the State Fair. While there my dad seemed to have a great deal of difficulty getting Gramps to go with him on the “scary rides”, so needless to say he wasn’t always able to go on the rides of his choosing. Whenever our family went to the State Fair my dad’s deal would be to go with us on whatever rides we wanted…the scariest of them all included!! I took him up on his offer often, the more gut wrenching the better! I went Skydiving a couple of years ago and it wasn’t the same without him! Maybe I’ll have to hold him to his deal and have him go with me for round 2! :-)

2) Ever since Grandma Bremner’s passing he faithfully sends out a weekly email to stay in contact with family. He told me once this was inspired my Grandma as she was always so good at keeping in touch with her children and grandchildren. I don’t say it enough but I am SO grateful for his weekly updates and have saved every single one!

3) He has coached more Little League Baseball, Softball, T-ball, Basketball, Football, and Wrestling teams then I can count. If his kids are involved in it, he’s a part of it. And if he’s not coaching your teams you better believe he’s yelling for you along the sidelines!

4) My mom now has a FABULOUS recipe for homemade pancakes, but back in the day my dad was the pancake maker in our family. He has a special talent of making the most random shaped pancakes…tractors, animals, buildings, you name it! It must be the Engineer in him. He would make heart shaped pancakes for my mom whenever pancakes were the meal, and my personal favorite chocolate chip pancakes on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

5) Once he decided to take a transient homeless man… Gordon…under his wing. He set Gordon up with food, a tent to camp out in, and even a job. Dad gave him our old truck and a chain saw and sent him off to cut down firewood for locals in preparation for winter. The plan was perfect and was consistent with Dads Good Samaritan character, until he started getting confronted by friends and church members as to why his truck was constantly at the local bar. People in town were very upset that Brum Bremner, a prominent, non-drinking, Mormon, was spending most of his time at the saloon! My brothers still tease dad about being at the bar with Gordon at some point because he can still whoop them in any game of pool!:-)

6) He can throw together the best Kickball or Woeful Ball games! Of course they are best preformed in the street with trash, lamp posts, and vehicles as make do bases!

7) He is hands down one of the greatest examples of being a Spiritual Giant that I know of. He exemplifies his beliefs with exactness, always bearing testimony of our Savior, living a life full of integrity, righteousness, and faith. I can only hope to have a level of spirituality that my dad has someday.

8) Although to humble to admit it, feedback has frequently been given to him from friends and ward members that he’s one of the best slalom water skiers they’ve seen. He can still cut across the wake and get his face so close to glass it’s beautiful to watch!

9) Both of my parents are some of the hardest workers I know of. To say they value teaching their children a “strong work ethic” would be an understatement. They bought farmland when we were younger, not having a clue how to farm…just to teach their kids the value of work. Many of our toughest lessons have come from sweating it out on the land, changing water lines, getting up early to feed the cows, picking rocks out of the field with a sibling we just had an argument with etc. When I turned 16 my dad “strongly encouraged” me to learn how to change a tire. He thought me this lesson by having me rotate ALL 4 tires on the old yellow truck by myself. I’m pretty sure it took me two days…but that skill sure has come in handy!

10) For many years my dad was what I call a Boy Scott Leader Extraordinar! He was one of the only leaders I know of that would go to events in FULL FLEDGE uniform ALL of the time. That’s right….green khaki pants, handkerchief, patchwork, the full nine yards! He led his troop on 50 mile hikes, Catalina trips, mile swims, and spirit stick wars! Whatever the boys did he would do to…including Belly Flop Contests!

11) Recently at Lonnie’s Wedding he went up to Lonnie’s dad, Ernie, and asked the meaning of a sign entitled “Bull Shippers”. This sign was hanging in the country restaurant where we were all eating. My dad’s question came in full belief that there was some historical story from those parts about shipping bulls, and he was determined to find out what legacy local farmers had left behind. Thankfully, Ernie set my naive father straight to what was so obvious to the rest of us! He was very clear with dad that the sign was indeed just a nice way of saying “Bull Sh*?$#s”. Hands down this one of the best foot in mouth experiences I have EVER witnessed!!! And of course I love my dad for it! 12) A tribute to my dad would not be complete without mentioning that he is the MOST frugal person I know of. (Clete after sitting through a grueling budget session with you, you are a definite runner up!) When me and the boys get together will try to one up with each other with “Our Dad is SO Cheap Stories”. A few of our favorite examples include:
· Buying one Hershey’s candy bar for the whole family after swimming and each person getting only one square of chocolate.
· Once on a family trip we stopped at 7-11 for lunch and he actually purchased 7 day old hot dogs for a buck!! No worries though, all 7 of us were able to wash the tastiness down with shared swigs of 1 Big Gulp.
· I’m pretty sure my dad has used the same brown paper bag to carry his lunch to work for the past 10 years.
· When on the road for work his lunches typically consist of stopping at Wal-Mart for an apple, string cheese, and chocolate milk. If the apples are a few more cents per pound then he was expecting he’ll stop his purchase, get back in his truck, and drive to another store where apples are cheaper…per pound mind you!!
· And my Personal Fav….Once in High School we got TP’d by some of my brothers friends. My dad actually saved the toilet paper and used it for his own personal hygiene supply!!! He sure showed them! J

Seriously…What more could I ask for in a Dad: dedicated, supportive, fun, always there for his children, hard working, forgiving, willing to teach, leads by example, I could go on and on but instead I'll just say.... HaPpY BiRtHdAy DAD!!! I love you tons!
Love,
LiNdSeY!