Father's Day 2011

My dad is a very interesting individual. I’ve always said and believe that the two coolest people in the world are my dad and Johnny Depp. Even his name is strange. Roy Rogers Humphrey. Yep, Rogers with an “s”. He was named after the actor. Even stranger is the fact that he grew up to be a horse trainer. You can’t make up this stuff. Roy Rogers has all sorts of great characteristics about him. He is an amazing bass player, unexplainable horse whisperer, and a great dad. He seemed to be a great husband as well. As a small child we went to church together, ate every meal together, and rode our horses together (didn’t your family do that?). My dad would come home from travelling and bring in a doll he’d seen in a store for me or something nice for my mom. He’s a very thoughtful man. Of course, he’s a cowboy so he’s also pretty tough.

The things I remember most about my dad are those things that let me know just how unique and special we are as a pair. For instance, every year on the night before school started he would come into my room and say, “You’re going to go to school tomorrow and learn and be the first lady President.” Just matter of fact. But the biggest thing is our song. Oh! The song! When I was a little girl it was no big deal, in fact it was a proud thing when my dad would be in the middle of a store, in the barn around other people, at a table in a restaurant-anywhere and everywhere-and say “Latasha (that’s another story), sing my song!” and there I’d go belting it out. When I got a little older, say a teenager, it was a little bit more embarrassing. As an adult that moved out of her house, it would make me feel very good, loved, and missed when the phone would ring while cooking in the kitchen and when I’d answer I’d hear, “Latasha, sing my song!” and I’d sing proudly over the phone line.

10 years or so later on Father’s Day, without having to be asked, here we go:
“Daddy’s Girl, Daddy’s Girl,
I’m the center of Daddy’s world.
Even though I’m not his son
I know I’m still Number One,
Daddy’s Girl!!!”(This is the part where he always claps and yells, “Yay!!”)

Can you hear me singing?