This Sunday is Father’s Day. My dad’s last Father’s Day was in June of 1993 and two months later he passed away from cancer. I always miss him but there are so many great memories of Kenneth Robert Kahler. I thought I’d share a few of them.
OCTOBER OF 1978 I was working at the White Castle alongside Linda, my supervisor. She was cute, in her early 30’s, married and well liked by all. So one Sunday afternoon my mom and dad drove to the Castle in their respective cars. Mom waited in her ride and dad came in to drop me off keys to his car which he left in the parking lot. After my shift, I was set to take friends to a Blackhawks game while he and mom had other plans. So pop handed me the keys, told me to have fun and was out the door in less than a minute. As he walked out, Linda asked me who that guy was. I said, “That’s my pop.” She replied, “Very good looking man.” Linda didn’t mean it some sleazy way. She was sincere and coming from an attractive woman, her compliment meant even more. I stood there for a second, then said, “You know, I never thought of that before, but you’re right! My dad is a good looking guy.” The next day I shared that anecdote with dad and he smiled broadly. I’m not sure if and when any of us deem our parents as attractive, but it’s nice when others do.
FEBRUARY OF 1979 One day my mom told me of a specific Sunday that I needed to ask to have off from working at White Castle. She said dad had a “hockey surprise” for me. I arranged to take that day off and checked the Blackhawks home schedule but they did not have a home game on this particular date. I didn’t press my pop for more details and decided to just go with the flow. The night of our outing as we pulled up to of all places the Mill Run Theater in Niles. I learned it wasn’t a “hockey” surprise but a “comedy” surprise. Dad took me out to see comedian George Carlin in concert! We both listened to and liked my Carlin albums but I had no idea he was coming to town for a show. My father must’ve seen an ad in the paper for the concert and got us tickets. How many teens can say their dad is so cool he took you out to enjoy the bawdy, downright dirty comedy of George Carlin? That was my pop, quietly cool and fun. And we had a belly laughing riot at that show!
JANUARY OF 1986 By this time I was working for about ten months in Chicago radio as Larry Lujack’s producer at WLS in what was a dream job. I’d been out of college less than two years and was paying back my school student loans for a little over a year. My monthly payment was eighty dollars a month and while the total balance was not an insane amount like college grads face today, I still had some years of payments to go. One night dad came down to my room and asked for my student loan payment book. I asked why and he said, “Because from now on, I’m covering your school loan.” This news floored me, I mean dad and mom had already helped me plenty with money as I navigated through five years of higher education and now he was offering more! My dad’s rationale was he didn’t want to see me saddled with any debts. He encouraged me to enjoy the money I was making in radio and of course save a bit of it as well. I never asked for this help but again, it showed the simple thoughtfulness my father often brought to my life.
SOMETIME IN THE MID 80’S- While my passion for movies came from both my parents, it was my dad who was the supreme film fanatic. I could never count all the first run flicks we saw together and the classic movies he showed me on late night TV and video. Films like “A Face in the Crowd”, “The Hustler” and “Citizen Kane” leap to mind. Anyway, one night it was my turn to show my dad a movie he’d never seen before. I rented “Caddyshack” and pop loved it. I watched it many times before but to see him crack up at Rodney Dangerfield’s one liners and the rest of the movie was a real kick. The ultimate was seeing dad hoot, howl and belly laugh during the whole “Baby Ruth” candy bar in the pool bit. My pop’s hysterics reached their peak when Bill Murray bit into that chocolate log. I will never ever forget how funny it was to see pop go so nuts for that scene. Even as I’m writing this his laughs are echoing in my head.
I love and miss you pop, Happy Father’s Day to all!
NEXT BLOG- Remembering the first ever summer blockbuster movie.