When I picked up Dad and brought him to the house I was renting I knew interesting times were coming. He took a few days to wander around and take everything in. He enjoyed sitting by the pool in the sun the most. The neighbors thought we were nuts as we did all of the yard work in shorts all year long. We had a lot of time to talk about family I never had the chance to meet, the Onaway farm, my sisters and the world in general. He and Elizabeth quickly teamed up and before I knew the plan the entire neighborhood of kids had an endless summer pool party each year. It was incredible to see him sit by the pool and orchestrate a dozen kids as they did what kids do best, played without cares or worries. One day a snake came to the party and Elizabeth jumped to the top of the pool slide. Dad caught the snake and showed her how to catch them, hold them, get a good look at how beautiful they are , and how to let them go safely. My daughter learned a lot about being a good friend and how to deal with problems those two summers thanks to Dad. He had me buying a dozen frozen loaves of bread a week to keep the kids snack lights off and a turkey every couple of months to keep me from pulling my hair out. We spent a lot of mornings with coffee by the pool watching the Navy Blue Angels practice overhead and many nights by the fire trading stories and talking about everything. I can't and won't try to defend his mistakes and problems, but I will tell anyone who cares enough to ask that he truly wanted everyone to be safe and happy, especially family and friends.