Story Time #1: Why My Dad Is My Hero

I've been told I should write down some of my stories.  I have a ton of them, but I'm not sure how they could actually go together in some kind of book.  Instead I'll write them down here and share them with you all.  If any book publishers are reading feel free to contact me and I'm sure we can work something out.

My first story is a sweet little number about why my dad is my hero.

My dad is an awesome guy.  I don't want to get into too much back story, so let me just tell you two things you need to know about my dad in order for this story to make sense.  1.) My dad is retired Army.  He could kill a man with his bare hands or whatever rudimentary tools happen to be nearby. 2.)  My dad is super mellow and incredibly easy going.  He could kill you, but he's just too great a guy to actually do it.  It takes a lot to get him riled up in any way.

I've only seen my dad get really angry a few times in my life.  When my dad gets really angry it's scary.  That's when it's easy to see the soldier.

The times he's been really angry have only been when a member of his family is being threatened.  This is my story.

When I was a little kid I used to have a recurring nightmare about a Nazi with a German Shepherd who was coming to get me.  Every time I had the dream (twice a year or so) the Nazi was getting closer and closer.  When I was 12 I dreamed that he was across the street from my house. Then I never had the dream again.

Fast forward to me at 16.  My mom had a gas card for Circle K as a perk from her job and we were all allowed to use it to fill up our cars.  Pretty nice perk, right?  There was a Circle K about a half mile from our house and the next nearest was more like three miles away.

One day after I'd given my mom my gas receipts she noticed that for the past few weeks I'd been going out of my way to use the farther station.  Of course, she wanted to know why I was driving so far out of my way when the other station was so much closer and easier to get to.

Well, there happened to be a creepy guy who looked just like the Nazi from my old dream that liked to hang out at the nearer Circle K.  He would just stand by the counter and flirt with the girl who worked there and he'd flirted with me a little too.  Nothing to bad, just mild banter.  Still, it creeped me out enough that I stopped going to that station. (This station was old, there were no card readers at the pump.  I actually had to go into the station to pay.  The far station was newer and I could pay at the pump.)

My dad was in the room when I explained this all to my mom.  She looked over at my dad, he simply nodded to her and told me, "Get in your car, we're going to get gas."

When we got to the station he asked me if the guy was in there and I pointed him out.  I got my gas and my dad told me to go in and pay as usual.  He said he'd be right behind me.

I went in and just like I'd said the creepy guy was flirting with the cashier and said something to me.


My dad went ballistic.


I mean that literally.  My dad turned into a weapon.  He physically swelled up and just lashed out at the guy.  He didn't yell, but he wasn't speaking softly by any means.

"DON'T you DARE speak to my daughter.  What are you doing here bothering the people who work here and bothering underage girls.  YOU need to find a new place to be.  If I EVER hear of you loitering here when my daughter comes to get her gas you will have ME to deal with."

My dad was probably 6 inches shorter than this guy but I saw Creepo literally shrinking away.  The ladies behind the counter were startled at first and just kind of stared at my dad.  After my dad watched the guy leave the station he went out and stood by my car.  I sheepishly paid and kind of mumbled "Sorry."  The lady who was ringing me up was grinning and told me not to be sorry, that guy had been bugging her for weeks and just wouldn't take the hint to leave.  She was thrilled my dad had gotten rid of him for her too!

And that is one of the reasons why my dad is my hero!