Kenneth Becker

Today is Dad's birthday so I tried to pick some photos over the years.  The neat thing about Dad is that he has really evolved as a person.   He really enjoys being a grandpa and he deserves that.  He still is pretty darn sharp and we are enjoying him more then ever.

I remember when I was like 17, he decided to quit smoking and he never smoked again.  I didn't give him enough credit for that.  That was pretty amazing.   I also recall how agressive and phenomenal he was as a machine operator. 

Although, I dodged the pickle-picking stuff, I did help Dad plant the pickles.  I remember him telling me to throw 6 or 7 seeds in each area he scraped with the hoe.  It wasn't too bad but as a kid I found it boring.  Another thing we did was pick rocks.   Dad would drive the backhoe around and we would throw the rocks in the bucket.   He gave me a dollar for that.  Whenever we would walk around in the field, he would joke that there was a "bar" in the woods. 

Another memory I had was when we almost bought Uncle Charlie's house in 3-lakes.  We were going up there alot and the whole thing fell through because Charlie's family thought he should get more money.  The weirdest thing about that cabin/house was we were never allowed to go upstairs.  What the heck was up there?   That was a fun weekend  except when Charlie would call me "Hankie Boy" which was his dog.

One summer when the fields weren't being used, we built this baseball field out there. Dale even made a little home plate.  That was fun.  Once in awhile Dad would take a swing and he always hit the ball really really far.   You probably already know this but Dad played high school baseball. I think he played leftfield. 

Another somewhat interesting memory is when we were driving down Main street and an attractive scandily clad young lady was standing in her yard.  That is when Dad told me "You know you can look at that Nick."  I was like ok.  I think I was like 17 at the time.   He may been concerned I was on the other "team."

Another memory I have is when I was pretty little.  Dad drove his backhoe out into the woods, scooped up a silver maple tree, planted it in the backyard, and it grew perfectly well.  That was cool.
I always enjoyed watching him dig stuff up with the backhoe.