For Dad on His Birthday

Today, my dad enters a new decade. I won’t tell you which decade, I’ll just tell you that when I was home in August, he water skied every day, and at least once while I was driving he told me to take it up past 40 and he dropped his slalom ski and barefooted across the lake all the way home. So he’s pretty much invincible.

In honor of the World’s Greatest Pops, here’s a little tune my sister and I recorded last year, an old Loretta Lynn song we used to sing when we were younger. It’s one of Dad’s favorites. Our good friend Drew Piston learned the guitar part in three minutes and recorded for us in his living room in two takes (I think we started laughing in the middle of the first one). That angel voice on harmony is my little sister, Betty Lou.

I wish we were all home celebrating together, but this is the best I can do from across the ocean. So, for the man who taught six kids to water ski, to make music, to work hard, to be thankful for what we have and never take a day for granted, this one’s for you, with all my love:

“When They Ring the Golden Bells”