Today is Father's Day in the States. Lots of people are buy their Dad's ties, golf gear or coffee mugs that say things like: #1 Dad or World's Greatest Dad. I didn't buy my dAd anything for Father's Day this year but that doesn't mean that I am not thinking about him.

Now I think it's important for me to tell you a little bit about my dAd. I could just make you a list: funny, incredibly handsome, hard working and the like but it would be a long list and not nearly as funny or illustrative as a story.

Here's the important thing to know about this story. My dAd has a sense of humor. I'm not talking he just likes to tell jokes (which he does). No he loves laughter, he loves telling funny stories, he likes poking fun at people, he likes doing ridiculous things.

This said, he's not much of a technology guy not that you'd necessarily know this seeing as he writes a <a href="http://wallawallalocal.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">lifestyle blog about life in the Walla Walla Valley called: Work, Eat, Play, Live Local</a>. Anyhow, he's got a flip phone (one that he often likes to use to tease people. He'll flip open his phone and tap on the screen, pinch his fingers together, and then let out a big sigh and say with a big grin in his face: my phones's not working right now) rather than a smart phone. If he's having computer problems, he calls my mom to solve them and on skype he often sits so that I can only see half or a quarter of his body because he doesn't know where the camera is. Heck he owns an antique store and is much more comfortable around antiques than using the credit card machine required to sell them.

But you know what, I love him for all of these things and more.

Recently my sister and I bought my MoM a smart phone (after <a href="http://www.karolinkabulgaria.com/2012/05/13/three-cheers-for-my-mom/" target="_blank">my mother's day post specifically point #1 </a>it seemed like the only thing two daughters should do for their MoM. A mom who over time has spent a lot more on her daughters than she spends on herself) but in buying a smart phone everyone on my parent's account was automatically bumped up to a plan with data. For my MoM this was clearly a necessity but not so much for my dAd.

Turns out he was thrilled to learn how to text messaged and overjoyed with the kinds of laughter, groans and service he received now that he's able to text message. My sister C. put it best in a post phone purchase email:
<blockquote>The other side effect of buying MoM a smart phone  is that we all have unlimited data, so everyone could text, which before, only I could do. dAd spent the weekend texting me to bring him beer. I've unleashed a monster.</blockquote>
Of course, I couldn't stop laughing when I read the email and I know, I just know, that my dAd was chortling every time he messaged my MoM and my sister to bring him beer. Why? Well because he's not that kind of guy in real life. If he wants a beer, he stands up and gets one. So, he's texting about beer to tease my sister, to make fun of the text-message culture, to show everyone that he knows how to do it (although I imagine that he'll continue to just call people) and because he likes to poke fun at stereotypical gender roles. He probably also wanted to see if anyone would bring him a beer. I am guessing that there's a 50/50 chance that he got a beer out of the whole thing but not after a lot of moaning on my sister's end upon receiving the text.

My childhood is full of similar kinds of stories, memories and laughter. So as a child I figured that everyone had parents like mine. How was I know life was different for other kids? I feel in

My dAd has taught me to be quick to laugh and not to take myself or my life too seriously.