Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Can I See Your ID Please?.....

My favorite TV show of all time was probably Dallas. I started watching it about 1980 when I would go visit my Grandmother, and she would fill me in on all of the charactors..After she died in 1981, I was still hooked on the show. Of course my favorite was J.R. EWING. What a cad!
Over the years, he bedded a bevy of women, but my favorite mistress of his was a hot chick named Mandy Winger!
Speed foreward to Friday April 11, 1986, a cold snowy evening, the maternity ward of Flint Osteopathic Hospital. My wife had just given birth to our first child, a 7# 8oz. baby girl!
At first we wanted to name her Ariel, a Sprite from the Shakespeare play The Tempest. But my sister-in-law made a crack about the name, and after that my wife was ambivilant about any name, so she gave me the honor of naming our daughter...Hahahaha No brainer! Mandy!!
Amanda Marie Haynes....Thats how she got her name! She was named after J.R. Ewing's Mistress!
She was always a brave little girl. When the day came for her to start Kindergarten, both me and my wife worked for the State at the time, and we could not get off of work. The lady at the day care where Mandy was at said that she stood in the rain all by herself waiting for the bus to come. That night she came home all by herself, without a hitch. When she was 8 she wanted her ears pierced , so I took her to Clairs in the Mall, and she got both pierced without even wincing! When she was a senior in High School, she graduated 4th out of 780 kids. She had already got accepted to Michigan State University, and I thought that was where she was going.

OK,......STOP....... to anyone that does not really know me well. Both Me and my wife are U/M graduates! I've had season football tickets to U/M since 1976...I Bleed Blue!!! And my daughter is accepted to our In-State Rival? Hey, whats the big deal right? It's a great school. It's close to home(40 miles). And she picked it!

The week of Graduation she comes home and tells me that..." Oh daddy, I got accepted to U/M in Ann Arbor". And walks away without a word......Ann Arbor? I didn't even know that she had applied there. You know how hard it is to get in there? You can have a 4.00 and not get in.
But she perservered and finally got accepted. Although she would never ever say it, I know in my heart that she went there for me. This year is her junior year. Last year she got accepted to a foreign studies program, and she picked Prague Czech Republic. Prague? Why in the Deuce would she pick Prague? Well come to find out, they are not on the Euro Dollar, and their money goes about 3 times farther than anywhere else in Europe. Thats my girl! Smart AND cheap!!
She has had the chance of a lifetime, and has taken full advantage of it..On her own, she has gone to London, Helsinki, Berlin, Paris, Edinborough, and Athens....
Still the brave little girl waiting at the bus stop!

But today, she is no longer my little girl. I always wanted to buy her a beer for her 21st birthday, but she is in a foreign country. She is closer to Iraq, than Flint Michigan!
I miss her terribly.She is a smart, funny, talented, and resourceful girl. I haven't seen her since I took her to the airport in August, she hugged me good bye and said, " Don't worry Daddy, I'll be OK".....She may be 21, but she'll always be my little girl......I love you Mandy..
Happy Birthday!!!

33 comments:

javajazz said...

thats so sweet, papa Galen!
21 huh...woah!!
i can relate...
(to having a kid almost that old,
and being too far away
AND being quite fine with it all!)
Happy Birthday, kid!
oh right, i mean,
young woman...!
xo lisa

G-Man said...

Thanks JJ, You're one of my very faves! xoxox

Cazzie!!! said...

Happy Birthday Mandy...and what a wonderful, funny, talented daddy you have, but I bet you knew it already :)

Cha Cha said...

You're such a great dad, Galen.

Happy birthday, Mandy.

I'm just glad to hear she wasn't named after a Barry Manilow song.

wmy said...

Happy birthday Mandy!
I got a little catch in my heart when I read that part about her still being the little girl standing in the rain...she is lucky to have such a great dad, and I am sure she knows that...she sounds like an awesome kid!
She has the world by the ass, and she is taking full advantage of it...you are right, she is a smart girl!

cathy said...

Golly I've got all that to come. I don't know how I'll cope it was hard enough letting them go enough to be born,both my kids had to be induced as I didn't go into labour.
I must have been holding them in, LOL and you think constipation is bad!

barman said...

You know G I am more then willing to sit in as a poor substitute for Many and you can buy me a beer! Hey, can't blame a bloke for trying.

I am most impressed. It is hard enough getting into UM period let alone the Ann Arbor campus. And then this foreign studies, she knows what she wants and she goes for it.

She will always be you little girl no matter how old she gets to be. Sounds like you and the wife did wonderful raising her. She is someone to be proud of for sure.

Happy birthday Mandy.

Oh to show you how good JR was, I hated him and I hated the show because of him. I would not watch it. Yet I enjoyed Larry Hagman in I Dream of Jeane. He was playing the cad character that well. At least something really good came of him.

Autumn Storm said...

Galen, what a thoroughly wonderful post the manner in which it is written, through Dallas, to her name, to her qualities to end in the occasion, a joy to read. :-)
(In part, I admit, because I LOVED Dallas too;)

Happy Birthday Mandy!

Anonymous said...

This is so nice!!! I can't wait for the day my big boy will show me that he got some bones in his body... ;-( I'm not discouraged... hope is still alive... ;-))but I envie you... ;-)

G-Man said...

Hi Everybody!
I got up late today, and I gotta go to work soon.
Thanks for the comments so far...
Cazzie
Strumpet
Wendy
Cathy
Bryan
Autumn
Jo,
Plus I gotta go to a company dinner after work tonight, so it will be a late night for sure.
But you all know how I feel about each of you, and I promise I'll get back to everyone.
Thanks for the B'Day greetings to my baby, I love you all....Galen

Anonymous said...

galen this is such a beautiful and touching post.
Thank you so much for sharing the story about your daughter.
What a great kid! I guess the acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.
GREAT POST
a **** FOUR STAR Top cat Post Award.
tc

MilkMaid said...

Happiest of birthdays Mandy...that's a lot to be proud of Dad!

SignGurl said...

This is freaky! My youngest turns 11 today. Eleven years old on April 11th. Pretty cool, huh? Our girls are 10 years apart!

javajazz said...

ha! 11:11
(lisa has a thing about 11:11)
thats cool, Sign!

TC says the acorn doesnt fall
far from the tree...
cuz you're a smart brainy cookie too!
but does that also mean you'd like
to be far away, drinking beer
in a pub somewhere in europe
with 21 year olds too?

javajazz said...

Barman, was JR bad?
okay, so i guess i didnt watch too much of Dallas...!
i used to see Larry Hagman's face
with that nice sexy hat and graying hair and just think how cute Major Anthony (Tony)Nelson was, now that he had aged a bit (i have a thing for graying men, dont ask...) and yes, i had to google Larry Hagman to find out what Tony's last name was from I Dream Of Jeannie...man, that was just yesterday we used to watch all that stuff on tv...and Get Smart, and Bewitched and Soupy Sales...
ps, here's some return trivia for Barman...i didnt know Larry Hagman's mom was Mary Martin, the broadway actress who appeared in Peter Pan etc...(sorry, that probably wasnt all that thrilling news...) i also read that Larry took LSD (given to him by his therapist) while he was in therapy...hey, whatever gets you through the day, i suppose...maybe it made his therapist appear more skilled, who knows...?

Mouthy Girl said...

Cripes! You've reduced me to tears, Galen! I say you send her a homemade coupon for A Beer With Daddy.

Parents who are proud of their kids are the best kind of parents!

Happy Birthday to Miss Dallas!

CozyMama said...

HAPPY 21st to her!! WOW!!!! is this a good enough heads up? i just posted and i have been to see no one else..............hurry.

erika said...

Aww your a proud Daddy!

Michigan State is sooooo much better. lol

Cha Cha said...

Have fun tonight, Galen.

Say Hi to Hot Angie for me.

xo, dude.

Anonymous said...

lisa, Cary Grant was a big LSD user too.

tkkerouac said...

Aww, thats so sweet, she sounds like a chip off the old block!

Melodie Norman Haas said...

Ok Gman not cool that you almost made me cry at work. That was such an awesome post and it is always wonderful to hear you talk about your daughter! I know you are probably like my dad and when we talk about the things we do you still see us with pigtails at 7. (Like on Father of the Bride with Steve Martin)
My dad insists that even though I am older and out of my own I will always be his little girl, which I gladly keep that title.
I am sure Mandy does as well.
Ok I have to go write you an email now...

lime said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MANDY!!!!

(i had to shout so she can hear me all the was over in prague)

what a remarkable young woman you've raised, galen. i can see why you are so proud of her.

what a wonderful post for her birthday. i hope you've told her to look for this..

javajazz said...

Cat...Cary Grant, really?
wow. that blows my mind.
he seemed like such a nice
straight, i dont know,
family man, or something!
LSD scares me. i dont like
stuff that puts my perception
out of control...
i think i'm the straightest
person i know...
except for my evil coffee habit...
and my newest navy bean soup habit...!
hey Galen, how'd the soup go over
at work...? i bet they loved your home cooking! they must love you
there, Mr. Senior Chef! so nice of you to bring that stuff in and share it too....you're a nice
boy Galen...a meschugana what did you call me today? chuzzer?
naaaaaaw! i dont even know what
these words mean....but i do know how to spell them...okay, maybe i dont know that either...

SIMON said...

It's great being a dad!
That doesn't mean it's not hard. My eldest lad was in Kuwait on his 21st and my other 21 last July only made it home for the nearest weekend.
Tough breaks but all well worth it.

Happy Birthday Mandy!
Nice 1 Dad!

GAB said...

Aww daddy little girl! Happy Birthday Mandy!!!! Hope you know how proud your poppa is of you.
Sorry she has to be so far away on her big day but you know in your heart she is right there with you.

GAB said...

Oh I forgot....Our daughter was in Kindergarten when she asked her dad for pierced ears. She was the only one in her class who didn't have them. But she was having trouble learning to tie her shoes. SO her dad figured out he'd either get her to tie her shoes or bust. SO he told her if you can tie your shoes in two weeks you can get your ears pierced. You can bet she learned fast. I think her dad was a little shocked but he kept his word.

G-Man said...

OK I'm back!!
What a great Company Dinner...I had Pecan encrusted Whitefish, and 4 Fenton Hotel Martini's
1 shot Fra Angelica
1 shot Godiva licquer
1 shot Stoli vanilla Vodka
Yeah Baby!

OK!

Cazzie, thank you so much, I think I wished 2 of your children Happy Birthday, in the short time that I've known you!

Strumpet, NO Barry Manilow for me!! xoxoxox

Wendy, you'll be there someday, and you'll be writing a post just like this!!

Cathy,Olive Oil is great for constipation!!
Thanks sweetie....Galen

Bryan, I'll buy you a beer anytime brother!!
Thanks.....Galen

Autumn, Thanks for the well wishes, love seeing you..Dallas Rocked!!

Top Cat, thanks brother,
and it was great talking to you today!! That is what made today extra special.....Galen

Milky, Thanks from Texas sweetie..Much Obliged!!

Jenn, that is totally awesome!! That makes 5 girls that I know of with the same Birthday!
Love Ya..xoxoxoxox

Penguin!!
I would have been just as proud...Really!
But she chose best!!
xoxoxoxox

BG, You'll be a wreck, when this day comes..
Thanks for your very kind words...G xoxoxox

IMP, YOUR e-MAIL TODAY WAS AWESOME!
You made my day, Thanks Miss Melodie. xoxox

Jodi, thanks , are you back yet? We miss you!!

Limey, I wish you would get better soon, I miss my Trini..Thanks for the SHOUT OUT!!! Galen xox

EB, very kind words my friend, I hope your sons are both with you together soon....Galen

Gabby, I'm a very proud poppa indeed. You have your family still with you. You haven't had a chance to miss them...
Hahahaha...xoxoxoxox

JavaJazz, you give me lots of support whenever I need it..
You always care about how my kids are doing..
You always make me feel very special..
You are 1 of a kind, and I can't thank you enough.
You always make me feel like such a mensch!!!
Loveyoulots.....galen xox

CozyMama said...

yes I am back and getting in the swing of blogging again - off to post my hnt.

javajazz said...

love you too, mr G-man...
you wacky Sagittarian, you.
only 4 martinis huh?
that fish sounds awesome!
i love that, pecan encrusted...
man, i can think of a bunch
of things i'd like to have
pecan encrusted...
brings so much to the imagination!
why do they have company dinner?
yum...
oh, by the way,
i asked my dad how to say
"that Yiddish word"...
as usual, there's not really
a word for "it" per se,
but i think (shoot, now i forget)
i think it was possibly
something that sounded like
mekki...as usual, Lola wasnt
thrilled with how the
conversation was turning,
but is so used to
us talking about weird things
she just read her magazine
and criticized out loud
all at the same time,
he trusty glass of wine
at her side...
she probably was having
an out of body experience
at that time anyway...
but i think Larry was
a tremendous help, really,
dont you? mekki...funny.
he also said there wasnt
really a word for it, something
about it didnt usually come up
in Yiddish conversation all that much...of course schvance does all the time, so theres a distinct word for that, tho my dad did mention (all of a sudden hes an expert on yiddish?) that it really means
"snake"...i guess it does!
xoxo

G-Man said...

Lola was drinking Mogen David? Or a nice cabernet?
Yeah the Martini's were great...Hammer Time!!
Thanks xoxox

Jodi... This time I made it!! Thanks sweetie..G x

javajazz said...

Lola was drinking anything
remotely resembling wine...

G-Man said...

JJ, I saw that!!