When David became a junior in high school, he already had enough credits to graduate but the school would not allow him to do so because he needed economics and government, in which they only allowed seniors to enroll. So school became a challenge for David to escape from. Senior students, however, were allowed to participate in OJT and most of that group left the school at noon. When they left at noon David decided he would just leave also. He always said to get away with something, do it openly. On the first day of school, a teacher typically passed a seating chart for everyone to sign. David did not sign the sheet of paper, but instead, passed it on. His seat was left blank as if no one was setting there. The next day he left with the seniors to "OJT". This went on for more than six weeks.

And then, the inevitable....a female came into the picture. It seems the school received a long distance call from Germany. It was--tah dah, boom boom... for David Dove.
 
Since it was from Germany, and, it was the United States Air Force calling, they made a decision to break the rules and let David take the call.  They rang "his scheduled class." The teacher insisted he was not in the class. Then the teacher insisted that he was not absent, he was not in the class. After a short discussion, the school secretary took a message from the long-distance caller.


It seemed a girl had been visiting her grandmother in Michigan for the previous summer, but her family lived in Germany where the father was a colonel? in the military, She was inviting her summer love (David) to join her family for Christmas in  Germany. Her father was giving her that visit and the transportation as her gift (or so I remember it).


Gift be damned, David's father was really mad about the six weeks or so missed afternoons from school. Did I fail to mention David's father was the district's superintendent of schools? What an embarrassment for him! He yelled and ranted and, of course, a trip to Germany was out of the picture. (Sorry Sweetie, it wasn't you, David's Dad would not allow the visit)


The call seemed a harbinger of things to come. Every time there was a big deal in David's life, it inevitably involved a female. Some things were good, some were bad. All certainly were memorable.  


Ah, David, I do wish you could have gone to Germany, but you did deserve the punishment. And you were always willing to take the correct blame for whatever you were involved in.The incident left me with a big "what-if?"        


          

David was about 9 1/2   years older than his brother Wesley. He was very protective of his baby brother. Then the teen years struck David, and he was about 14 and very attentive about his "looks", spending a lot of time hogging the bathroom. One morning he became irritated with Wes. He called him a "little perv" because Wes  was staring at him. So, I found other things for  the four-year-old to do.

However, the next morning the same thing happened, and I scolded Wes for bothering his brother. Wes insisted he was only interested in watching David's toothbrushing routine. It seemed reasonable to me, and I was busy, so I made them agree to allow Wes to watch Dave brush his teeth, and then I made Wes promise to afterwards  leave his brother alone.

Wes snickered and held his black cocker spaniel,El Zorro, close.. David had asked me to buy a dog for then three- year -old Wes (Remember how much David loved dogs?) David smilled hugely and began to brush his teeth in theatrical, dramatic exagerattion.


And then, the little brother's shining big moment came. He announced he had brushed Zorro's teeth with David's toothbrush because David had given away Wes' Glowing Baby Beans, a little bean filled doll that glowed when you squeezed it.. Dave thought it sissy for a boy to have a doll, but Wes wasn't yet  ready to give it up.


The sound of retching was very clear from the bathroom. And so was the sound of the  trash can's mechanical thump as it closed tightly after David deposited his toothbrush in it. Dave insisted it wasn't true that his little brother had bested him, but I did notice a new respect between  them.

No, they didn't magically and perfectly "get-along" but I know there were some great brother moments between them.(Even a few that they do not know I was aware of.)           

A message from Dave:
(This was on his funeral card and it came from something he once said to me.) 

I always said my life was full. . .

good family, good friends,

good dogs, good food, fast vehicles,

 and many good times.

I’ve known love’s touch and

love does not die. . .

People do.

And now that all that is

left of me is love . . .

                                                 .Give me away