Today is Father’s Day and there’s no better reason to pen a tribute to my awesome dad than that.

My dad’s name is Brian. He’s a champion.

He was HOT when he was a young man, I think he’s still pretty great looking now at 76 years young.

Check him out…

My dad is a doer, he’s not much of a talker. But when he does talk, it’s worth listening. He’s a smart, savvy guy, very Australian in his suspicions of those in power (which I love) and always ready to stir things up – like teaching my Hawthorn-loving brother’s children the Essendon FC theme song when they came over to Nana & Pa’s. Classic.

He has the best laugh, it bursts out of him staccato – ha, ha! HA! HAA!    Best. Sound. Ever.

Brian was a builder, just like his dad. Dad built both the family homes we lived in. That fills me with such pride, you’d think I built them. I wasn’t quite so enamoured with his building skills when he extended my bedroom in the dead of winter one year.

The more kids that came along (five in total), the more extensions he had to do. As fate would have it, I was the only one who never had to share a bedroom – nyah nyah, take THAT siblings! Gotta love being a girl sandwiched between boys, with two younger sisters bringing up the birth-order-rear.

I do have one complaint though – seriously dad, I know my room was originally the ‘nursery’ but what the hell is with the wardrobe that wouldn’t be more than 30cms wide – good for baby clothes, not so good for a teenager in the 80s!! (He moved a door, and built me a new closet in my sisters’ room eventually.)

My childhood vision of Dad is khaki overalls, a scab on his head from dropping something on site, and trips to Flatmans Timber… the smell of timber transports me to those days instantly.

And when he picked me up from Brownies or Girl Guides, or on the way home from grandma’s on Sundays, we’d stop at the milk bar, buy a can of Coke and a Polly Waffle and be instructed ‘don’t tell your mother’. God I love that man! I never did tell, either.

Now a daughter can wax lyrical about her dad, and you’ll probably humour me and think, isn’t that nice. So, I’ll take you to an objective source. Dad was awarded a life membership at our local baseball club in 1991. Here’s some of what they think of him:

A (VERY) Quiet Achiever!

More elusive at our Baseball Club than the proverbial “Tasmanian Tiger” is one of the club’s most treasured and appreciated Life Members BRIAN.

A person who deliberately shuns the limelight (and who would not like this type of recognition) is Brian, seen (pictured below) as most would best recognise him.

Anyone who has ever had to visit our home diamonds early on a summer Sunday morning would surely have seen this gentleman getting about his business, but definitely not seeking any attention.

That’s right, Brian is the man who, for many more years than I have been at the club, has freely given his time to maintaining, manicuring and line-marking our Senior Diamonds ONE and TWO almost EVERY Sunday without fail.

By the time most people arrive for their Sunday morning baseball, Brian would have disappeared home for a cup of tea after his early morning work, although he sometimes returns “dressed up” to take at look at some of our current day juniors in action. 

For those who have ever had the pleasure to stop and chat with Brian, you could hardly hope to find a nicer or more friendly gent. He continues to take great joy from the performances of the Club at all levels, but particularly for our development of young players and what the club provides for young people in the area generally.

One common “tongue in cheek” theme from Brian if he should ever chat to a long-time member of the club that he would recognise is to remind you that, in all the time he has been working on the grounds, he has NEVER received a pay rise! Although he has always been happy to give his time to the club free of charge, he is always available to discuss a percentage increase from year to year… it’s his standing joke!

Of course Brian, it would be impossible for the club to seriously put a value on your contributions over the many years… your work and time commitment to the club has been PRICELESS!

So, if you should see Brian around the grounds any time you are there, give him a wave and say “G’day”!

Thanks Brian.

I couldn’t agree with these sentiments more – Dad is a ‘just get on with it’ kind of bloke. The kind of bloke you’d hope that your sons have as a best mate, and your daughters find to marry –  hmm, maybe that’s why I’m single! There’s nobody quite like him.

We’re not a big touchy-feely kind of family, so Father’s Day isn’t usually about declarations of love and respect. We’re more about sharing a cuppa when he pops in here for a computer lesson, or when I call in at the parental abode, than soppy declarations of love. He’s not likely to see this, but I want YOU to know, I am so lucky to get the dad I got, and I love and respect him more than anyone else I know. If you do read this, and you know him, feel free to share it!

Long story short – I’m so proud of him, I couldn’t have asked for anyone better to be my dad.

Father’s Day can be a real prick for some of us, and I’m completely aware of the grief that some people are feeling today – including people I love dearly, who deserve to be sitting across from their dads, enjoying his laughter and wit. In the grand scheme of things, this life isn’t always fair… so for me, it’s definitely a day to celebrate how bloody lucky I got, getting Brian as my dad.

My dad wasn’t the news reader on Channel 9 when I was a kid, but still, I know everything I need to know, ’cause Brian told me so.

Love you dad.

Net x