Cold turkey

About my father:

*When I was in the 4th grade, for Christmas I asked my father to stop smoking. He quit, cold turkey. No questions asked.

*I bought him my first gift in the 5th grade. A framed poster of a rooster standing tall and proud, and underneath it said,

"I'm the boss of the house and I have my wife's permission to say so."

Two months ago I saw him show it off to my little nephew with the edge of the frame all brittled and falling apart.

*In the seventh grade I made a lazy susan in shop class. Unlike other lazy susans which rolled evenly, mine rolled like a merry-go-around (not intentionally--it was off on a few measurements) low on one end and high on the other. My father put it on the table with soy sauce, chili sauce, kim chi and fish sauce, and held out his hands to catch falling condiments on every spin. Never complained once.

*In the 9th grade, my father bought me a brand new Sentra tennis racket with a fully enclosed bag, because I needed a racket for my tennis team. My father made $10 an hour at the time, the racket cost $60, no questions asked.

*When I was in college my father decided to lose weight. He lost over 30 lbs without ever gaining an ounce of it back. He started exercising and gave up 75% of his rice intake cold turkey.

*A few months ago I decided to take on a plumbing job. My father entered three hours later to a bathroom flooded with a mixture of water and drano and pipes laid about the floor. He tried to put the pipes back, but what I take apart no layman will be able to put back together. My father came back with a mop and towels and we cleaned up the mess while we waited for a licensed professional.

My father turns 70 tomorrow. For his birthday I'm giving up woodworking and plumbing, cold turkey---no questions asked.

Happy birthday dad!