bday eve before

bday eve before

Monday, June 16, 2014

MY DAD AND THE NEWSPAPER



Father’s Day, 2014


My house has many newspapers in it, my dad worked for a newspaper and loved it, you’d think he was the editor the way he talked about that paper, excited at each of its successes; a thick paper at Thanksgiving time could send him into swoons.

My dad sold 'want ads', the little classified ads in the back of the paper and he was real good at it.  He was a really good salesperson as he was a good listener –I’ve often felt that you don’t talk to sell, you listen.  He also used want ad shorthand all the time --- my birthday card would say love “D” for dad, my mother’s, love “O” for Ollie, he did not use apt, rms, etc. with us.  For many years though, I did real exacting steno work but I had never taken a class in shorthand.  I just always wrote in my own shorthand --- like my father.  I had never realized the correlation until lately.  Love “D”!

My father used to take me out of school, I don’t know how he managed that with the nuns, but he’d take me out of 3rd or 4th grade and we’d go on his ‘rounds’ together.  Rounds meant that he’d visit big companies who advertised with the paper.  We’d drive into the countryside around Rochester, New York and visit ‘dealerships’ --- it could be cars, trucks, tractors.  I loved the tractors myself.  I probably still had braids then and I know I had a space between my front teeth and we’d enter these huge showrooms and all these businessmen would stop what they were doing and come running, hollering out as they rushed towards us, their hands extended to my father --- “Ollie, where’ve you been?, boy is it good to see you!” and they’ be all smiles.  My father had made their day -- just by walking in the door.

It was a wonderful thing for a young girl to see ---her father making everybody happy just like that --- it’s stayed with me all my life.  Then, of course, there was always lunch and another important thing he taught me --- an attribute that has stood the test of time --- is how to find the best food.  The thing was it wasn’t necessarily in those places that ‘looked’ so nice.  It was often in some nondescript little hole in the wall and the food would be superb and, again, the personnel would often seem to know my father and welcome him back with great warmth.  Tablecloths were optional, usually missing!

I was so lucky to have known this man, “Ollie Kane,” lucky to have adopted some of his great instincts.  I wish I didn’t have so many newspapers lying around the house but to me a paper will never be on-line, or reading it on a screen.  It will always be my father’s newspaper, soft and accessible --- you can tuck it under your arm and read it at a lunch counter with a great old heavy white cup splattering coffee into the saucer.  And, later, besides recycling, you can pull out the vinegar and a few sheets of newsprint and wash your windows.  To this day, I have never figured how or why that works   ---but, it truly does.

I had a great father, it was a joy and privilege to know him --- and, fun too.


Happy Father’s Day one and all.  And, thanks Ollie Kane forever!!!