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speedy_w_beans

Happy Father's Day

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Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there who are spending time with their kids and building common interests with them, whether that be through Tamiya RCs or other hobbies!

My dad was a high school teacher in the 70s-early 00s and introduced me to a lot of things that became a permanent part of my life.  For starters, he loved building plastic models and through him, my uncles, and my grandpa I learned to enjoy it as well.  I had some of my first Tamiya experiences that way, including the original 1/16 Wolf WR1 F1 model and the 1/12 Porsche 935 with electric motor and battery holder.

He used to bring home donated TV and radio chassis, and I would strip them for parts with a soldering iron.  He taught woodworking, metalworking, and electricity initially, and later when those programs were shut down he taught photography and graphic design.  He always fixed and maintained his own cars, and even did most of the remodeling and expansion of the house himself.  There was always something hands-on to do and I was invited to participate.

He helped me buy my first computer at age 13, a Timex-Sinclair 1000 (or Sinclair ZX81 as most of you know it) with a whopping 8K of ROM and 2K of RAM, and encouraged me as I started learning BASIC and assembly language.  He was there throughout my teen years as I moved onto other computers too, like the Atari 800 and Atari ST, learning C and assembly on those and building little circuits or them.

At the end of high school he encouraged me to go to engineering school, and he was there for me throughout the program and the early career/employer choices I had to make.

The effects of aging are just starting to catch up with him; but he's in pretty good shape overall.  He was emailing photos this spring of his Revell 1/16 Gene Snow funny car with melted/crumbling tires; this is a mid-70s model kit I remember from when I was maybe 4 or 5 years old.  I was able to find some replacement tires at Ted's and at Competition Resins, and he attacked the restoration of his model with gusto.  He was so happy when it looked as good as new again.

In his retirement years he has been reliving a bit of his childhood playing with American Flyer trains.  He goes to swap meets and has a sizeable layout in the basement of the same house I grew up in.  Yes, he and my mom still live there, and they still have the same phone number!

Dad was visiting last weekend for MY son's high school graduation, and we had a little time to look over my RC collection.  He laughed a lot at Bump Steer, my furry Lunch box with the smoke unit embedded in it.  He enjoyed the driver figures in my 787B, Lotus 79, and R91CP.  He was intrigued by a belt-drive chassis I had sitting on the kitchen island.

I'm at this interesting cross road in life where I can simply enjoy time with my dad, and at the same time loosen the reins on my son, so to speak.

So again, to all the dads out there - happy Father's Day!

 

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Happy Father’s Day, Speedy. Thanks for sharing the story, very similar to my upbringing with my dad. He loved models and designing things, both for fun and professionally. He had RC planes, got me and my brothers a BBC micro, then an Amiga 500. He’s responsible for getting me in RC in the first place, starting with a Hornet and then a Terra Scorcher.  Now I follow in his footsteps professionally. And this year was my first Father’s Day, and he’s a proud grandad.  It’s amazing how inspirational parents can be. I am only truly seeing how important this is now, through the eyes of being a new parent. 

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Hat's off to your father, Paul. Now I know where you got the inspiration and drive to have the family you have. Have a good Tuesday buddy.

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