My father was one special man.  He was tall, dark and handsome; but most of all he was a true character.  He could make you laugh, and he had a laugh like no other.  He never met a stranger, and he truly got along with everyone.  He even had an unusual nickname.  Everybody called him “Geechie”, except my mom and his mother.  They called him William.

He loved his work, and he spent over thirty years working for Florida Power Corporation.  My family was basically on the poor side, though I didn’t know it at the time.   When I graduated from high school, he worked two jobs to make sure I got to go to college.  While I was in college, he was promoted to a supervisor for the power company and finished out his career in that position.

Most of all he had enough personality for all of us put together.  People just loved him, especially his family.  He loved to get your goat, if you know what I mean.  He was known for his practical jokes, though they were never mean spirited.

Also, you just couldn’t remain mad or sad around him.  He had a wonderful way with people. He had a good heart.

One of his best talents was that he could tell a story like no other.  He could take just about anything and spin a yarn that would have you rolling on the floor.  When he passed away, many of us thought that we could never really laugh again.

So when I read my daughter’s story about the latest thing her son did, I just couldn’t help thinking about my dad.  He would have loved hearing this, and then he would have spun it and had everyone cackling with laughter .

In fact I’m wondering if there might be a little “Geechie Roe” in his great-grandson who we all call Bubba.  See for yourself in Jamie’s latest blog post, “Bubbles Bubbles Everywhere”.

The story is here.