My Dad

Yesterday was Father's Day and I really missed my dad. He's been gone for almost six years, but I still miss that gentle man.

My dad, Mack Anderson, was born into a very poor family. He had two older brothers, William and Walter. Later he had three sisters, Esther, Zetta, and Emily. He always said they were so poor he didn't get a middle name.

His dad farmed and raised turkeys to make a little extra money. They lived in cabins so drafty that he said he'd have to shake the snow off his quilt in the winter. But they were happy. My grandfather was one of the happiest men I knew. He always laughed and I loved walking to his house and visiting with him.

Daddy had a lot of trials. He had colon cancer and a double bypass surgery on his heart. All of his brothers and sisters had heart problems and his mother also. It seems to run in the family. So far, I've escaped. He farmed on a hilly piece of ground where I grew up. It was hard work, but we survived.

He was a faithful man of God. He loved to go to church. He led singing each service in his younger days. I remember the last song he lead, about three months before he died. He was blind, but knew so many songs by heart. He voice at age 91 was still strong and beautiful.

He was also a character. He told the nurses one day that he was raised in Florida and he wanted some possum soup. My dad was raised in the hills of East Tennessee, but he had always wanted to live in Florida. He told the nurses they raised big possums in Florida. The nurses were laughing about it the next morning.

My dad was a gentle man. He was rarely angry and loved everyone. He enjoyed sitting on the porch and looking over the mountains. We bought him a rocking chair for the porch and that was where he would be in the mornings and at evening.

My sister and I were sitting with him shortly before his passing. We were talking and suddenly he said, "Ladies, do I have your permission to go to sleep in your presence?" I replied, "Yes, sir!" It was so formal and we laughed afterward. That was my dad and I miss him so much.