Vaughn's Favorite Things
My dad had many interests, some more obscure than others :)
The Great Outdoors!
Vaughn loved being outdoors. It didn't matter whether it was camping, fishing, hunting or anything else where mosquites bite and you had to sleep somewhere uncomfortable, he was in his element. I have many fond memories of my dad in the outdoors. We use to go to Gold Bar all the time as a kid and ride dirt bikes, ski and even float down the river in inner tubes. He always had one inner tube with a laundry basket in the middle of it where he'd have beers and cokes floating down behind us.
Boats, Boats and more Boats
Vaughn was never really a car guy, but boy did he love boats. He's had more boats than I can count, but some really stick out in my mind. We had a boat in Kenmore where we had a single cassette tape (Neil Diamond's The Jazz Singer) where he'd blast the song 'America' and we'd all sing along. He also had a little boat with an outboard motor on it that had a knack for getting stuck in reverse. I remember one time watching him driving backwards on Lake Cushman trying to get back to the dock. Most recently he has completely restored a 20' pontoon boat. He always wanted one and in true Vaughn fashion, he paid $300 for it and restored it spending thousands to make it like new again.
Ghost Hunting, really?
I warned some of his interests were more obscure than others. Vaughn is the founder of PIHA. I never could remember what that stood for. He even self-published a book with his findings and investigations. You can actually order it from Amazon. In addition to ghosts, he also was always facsicnated with UFOs, Bigfoot and anything else you would expect to see in a bad B rated sci-fi movie.
The King of Cholesterol
Vaughn drank a beer from time to time, but alcohol was never really his thing. He loved to eat bad food and drink weak coffee (actually I think it was weak because he'd use the coffee grounds more than once). Some of his all time favorites were fried chicken, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, donuts, cookies, ice cream, sheet cakes and coconut creme pies. See a trend here? It was always so endearing because a great meal would put a big smile on his face. I remember one time we all went to Izzy's (did I mention he loved buffets) and about 2 hours later he pulled out a piece of fried chicken he'd smuggled out of the place. It's unofficial but he also may hold the world record for most coffee consumed in a lifetime.
The Lot of Us
I'd be remiss to not mention his family when talking about his favorite things. He was a devoted family man who truly gave them all his love and attention. For years he'd run Pam's bathwater and bring her coffee. His favorite stories to tell always centered around raising his kids and all his memories of time together. What an amazing role model for me as I raise my own children and pass that same love and compassion down to them.
Nerd Alert!
Despite his love of the outdoors, you wouldn't find him without a laptop nearby. He absolutely loved surfing the Internet. He would spend hours and hours researching topics, learning new skills and just reading all sorts of random things. My dad and I have a shared love of technology and he always enjoyed discussing it with me. On many occasions when I'd come visit he'd have a punch list of computer problems he needed help with. I always enjoyed doing it; it was an opportunity to teach him something in return for all he taught me. Technology connected us, let us stay in touch and have something we both were passionate about.
A final message to my dad in binary (Google it)
01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01100001 01100100 00101110 00100000 01001001 00100111 01101100 01101100 00100000 01101101 01101001 01110011 01110011 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 01100101 01110110 01100101 01110010 00100001
