 |
| George Harvey Fisher |
Precious Memories of George Harvey Fisher
There are so many things I remember about my Daddy…My earliest memory was 1965, when we lived in Henderson, Nevada, Daddy put in a speaker system in our home so that we could listen to “Silver and Candlelight” music all the time, inside and outside. There were speakers in the eves and I remember the shrubs that were closest to the music grew taller than the rest. So when we played in the yard we listened to music as well. Daddy sang along with every song! So did Momma! To this day I know the melodies of many a song and not necessarily the words or titles. He also built a 4’x8’ enclosed table for a train set in my brother’s room and we spent many happy hours running that train around the track.
I remember when we would go up to Sunrise Mountain, up above Las Vegas, with our dune buggy that Daddy had built, to get huge white rock to put in Momma’s fountain in the front yard of the house that had the outside speakers.
I remember Daddy taking my brother and I out to the shooting range in our ’62 Cadillac to learn how to handle a gun and shoot. I also remember having to pick up all the shells!
I remember going to the fire station and playing on the hose rack until my Daddy caught my brother and I running up and down the hoses that were laid out to dry. He took us in to the fire house kitchen to check on the chili that was cooking!
I remember going to that same fire station to get him to cut a little turquoise ring off my finger. I remember Daddy teaching us how to swim, then letting us dive off his shoulders. I remember going to the A&W Hamburger Joint after church every Sunday and getting a baby burger and some A&W root beer.
I remember going to Lake Mead and playing along the shore with our tennis shoes on and gathering the smooth rock for Momma to paint on. And while having a picnic in a wash it started to rain and we had to scramble to gather everything into the dune buggy to leave before water came rushing down the wash. Daddy taught my brother and me how to golf on 18 holes. Daddy took us for little weekend excursions to see ghost towns, old towns, mining towns, caverns, The Valley of Fire, Hoover Dam, Bryce Canyon, The Petrified Forest, The Grand Canyon, the Painted Desert, Calico Ghost Town. He got tickets for us to see the stage play “Fiddler on the Roof” when he was Chief of Security at the Union Plaza in Las Vegas, we had dinner seats and he took us back stage to get autographs.
I remember after saving up all the S&H Green stamps I could get my hands on, Daddy taking my brother and me to the Drug Store where we picked out a Victorian Lady in purple and lace sitting in a settee. It was a light and a music box. Momma still has it.
Back in 1971 in Overton, Nevada, I remember the look on his face the day my brother and I accepted Jesus as our personal savior. When he got home from work my mother met him at the door with a warning not to interrupt my brother Doug and I who were sitting on the couch singing all the songs we had learned at Vacation Bible School and those from a Psalter made up of scriptures set to song. It was a short time later that Daddy accepted Jesus as his personal savior and he had his songfest!
When we lived in Bay City, Texas we drove the beach in his ’62 Chevy Pickup as we scavenge the beach for shells, sand dollars, drift wood and ship’s netting and rope. He took us to see a Houston Astro game in the Astrodome.
I remember his kneeling behind me to help me with my piano lessons, of him standing behind me to sing a special at church, performing at the Terry Bison Ranch in Wyoming, and singing Christmas songs in the mall.
He loved old cars and I remember going with him to pick up a ’51 Mercedes that he paid $200 for. And when he found and paid for a ’55 Jaguar with a six-pack of beer. We still have the Jaguar. He wanted to restore it when he retired. He loved Chevy’s and Cadillac’s too. He taught me how to recognize each car or truck on the road and rued the day they all started looking alike.
Daddy was born in Levelland and was very proud to be a Texan and he passed that pride down to his children and grandchildren. We had a silver claim in Nevada and it was named “The Tall Texan Mine”. Daddy was 6’6”. He loved horses, westerns and Texas Long Horn cattle. He told me on the way home from the last trip to the VA in Big Spring that he wished he was young enough to help Shot and I gather and work cattle on the ranch…
Daddy loved his family but he loved his grandchildren more than anything in this world. He was very proud of them, that Travis and Tony were in law enforcement like he had been. He was doubly proud when the boys started singing with us and loved music like he did. It broke his heart when we lost Christi in a car accident and that Melany was so far away in California. He loved Erin, (Tony’s fiancé) from the first minute she walked into our lives. Daddy never complained about providing for his family. He worked until he retired from Conoco in 2000 and went back to driving for another nine years. He did that to help finance mine and my mother’s online business of selling paperdolls and stationery. When we had our own trucking company he would send his trip sheets in an envelope marked “Windshield USA” in the return address area. Daddy was meticulous with his record keeping and had beautiful hand writing. He could add up row of numbers in his head. He taught me how to read a tape measure which oddly enough helped with my piano playing too! 1/8th of an inch vs an 1/8th note, or ½ inch vs a ½ note. He helped me put red pen-stripping on my very first car, a white AMC Hornet.
Daddy would come in off the road when we lived in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and before he could get his 18-wheeler parked, Travis and Tony would rush to the truck to see Grandpa (and get a Dr. Pepper and a piece of Worther’s Original candy.)
Daddy left this world at peace from the pain that racked his body. When it became evident that we needed to let him go…Travis, Tony, Erin, Shot, Momma and I were with him. Daddy’s nurse Carolan said she wanted to sing “No One Ever Loved Us More Than Jesus” to Daddy and to us. And even though her own mother was in CCU, she made us feel that Daddy was her favorite patient. We followed her song by singing “Precious Memories”, “Amazing Grace”, “For Those Tears I Died” a cappella. Erin had her iPad with her and we played some of the instrumental songs that I recorded and posted on our Fisher Family Singer’s blog.
I remember Doug coming out about a month ago just to spend some quality time with Daddy…I remember Travis and Tony sitting beside their grandpa’s bedside each holding his hand for hours with Erin taking a cold wash cloth and placing it over his eyes to help him finally close his eyes for some much needed rest…I remember Momma touching his face and telling him she loved him…I remember kissing my Daddy’s forehead and telling him that I loved him too and that it was okay for him to go home.
Right after Daddy stepped over that river, Travis posted on facebook, “In these precious moments at 0155 my Grandpa passed away surrounded by family and music, the two things he loved most. He was the strongest man I know. I will always strive to be more like him. Thank you all for your prayers. I love you Grandpa and always will.” Tony posted, “The Greatest man I've ever known has passed. Although it was terrible on us he left surrounded by what he loved most, his family and music. We sang him to sleep. Grandpa I owe so much to you I can never repay it. You taught me how to be a man, how to work with my hands, how to treat a lady, how to sing and how to love your family unconditionally. I love you so much. Rest In Peace. We will sing together again soon.” And Erin posted, “Heaven has called sweet Grandpa Fisher home. No more suffering for this sweet angel. Please pray for comfort and guidance for my new family.”
“Momma remembers that Daddy was the happiest when he was singing with his children and his grandchildren. And when he was singing in church. He loved music! And when he talked about his family, he was always so proud of them. He was a good man, I will miss him.” And my brother, Doug said, “There are too many memories to choose from. What sticks out from everything… is someone who sacrificed a lot of his dreams and ideas to make ours come true.”
And I meant what I posted on facebook, “How do you write something about the most special daddy and really relay to everyone how special he really was? He loved music and singing.” “He taught me how to read shape notes, how to harmonize, how to shoot, and even how to drive an 18-Wheeler! I miss my Daddy very much and I am so thankful that he was a Born Again Christian and loved the Lord! The memories are precious!!! ~♥~♥~♥~”
However, the most precious memory of all is Daddy singing…singing with his family, singing with his heart, with his eyes closed and his big hands lifted up in praise to God!!! Now he is singing with the angels…
No comments:
Post a Comment