Top Ten Reasons Blue Collar Dads Rock...and Why I'll Always remember mine as the "Big Watashi"

1. My Dad could make an ordinary weekday a supernatural wonder, whipping up magic potions from some leftover dry ice.
2. He made the coolest banks ever, crafted from a metal clad pipe, welded closed at both ends, with just a sliver of an opening for deposits…but absolutely no withdrawals without Dad as the bank teller wielding a torch!
3. Dad always had cool “stuff” and tricks well beyond “pull my finger”…as a kid I knew what mercury was way before Chemistry, having had a chance to see it up close and personal, rolling along the edge of a weathered and much loved work bench that rivaled even Santa’s workshop.
4. This amazing and almost ethereal workbench, lit by a hanging, swinging fluorescent light fixture, with a vice grip anchored to its top for fixing and breaking just about anything we came up with.
5. The brilliance of a dad, who could fix the unfixable…and the summer our dreams came true when he brought home a broken water fountain and tinkered with it to dispense chilled water, installed on the back of our house.  Forget the hose! We were livin’ large J
6. Dad kept our “wheels” moving, replacing flat tires and broken chains effortlessly on 90-degree days, with sweat dripping from his forehead…and usually ending up with a fresh gouge or cut of some sort further demonstrating his already Herculean strength with a set of hands that refused to yield or surrender to any peril.
7. Firm, strong hands made for holding my hand, pulling me back from danger, and letting me go even when he knew there was still unavoidable danger…the natural and painful learning process every child goes through in growing up. 
8. Dad was a race car driver extraordinaire, making even a trip to the grocery store a fun adventure sitting in the back of an old blue Chevy station wagon.
9. My dad had the absolute best retro vinyl recliner, constructed with more wood than fabric…offering plenty of room room for all of us to climb, cuddle, and wrestle with the self proclaimed “Big Watashi.”
10. And when I was a little girl and too tired to climb the stairs and go to bed, he gathered me up in his arms effortlessly, even though he was already carrying the weight of the world and taking care of our family.

Here’s to every blue-collar dad out there being a hero to their kids every day.  Trust me, they will remember…and you are bigger than life to them!