Things Dads Say: Teaching About Life With Love, Humor And No Nonsense

David Smith was a no-nonsense kind of guy.

The sign in his mother’s garage left no doubt. It depicted a bull hunched over and a red “X” through it and two words: “No bull****”

“He was a straightforward, simple person who loved his country and his time in the Army,” his daughter Emily said in response to an informal Father’s Day survey asking Patch readers to tell us about their dads.

The Palatine (Illinois) Patch reader described herself as a “daddy’s girl.”

“While many daddy’s girls were in ballet and pampered, I was taught how to latch a boat hitch, dock a boat, and eventually drop the boat in at the launch,” she said. “Some of my earliest memories of how to be a manager were him sitting in a lawn chair over Memorial Day Weekend telling me how to put the pier in while I was in the 50-degree water.”

Emily added, “It definitely prepped me for the polar plunges I took in my future!”

‘The Captain Of Our Ship’

New London (Connecticut) Patch reader Karen’s dad, William, didn’t put on airs, either.

“I am a fisherman’s daughter,” Karen said. “My dad was a very simple, hardworking, amazing man. He never let me down.”

But he did lift her up.

“Everything I needed to know about life, I learned at Hopeville Pond,” she said, referring to the state park in eastern Connecticut that was an important fishing ground for the Mohegan Indians. Fishing is still one of the park’s biggest draws.

“He was the captain of our ship,” Karen said. “He loved my sister and I. Our mother? More than life itself.”

They were married for 50 years when he died in 2020.

“He was a great man,” Karen said.

Early Lessons In Money Management

Sandy Springs (Georgia) Patch reader Jackie Goodman said her dad, A.F. “Jack” Goodman prepared her and her brother for financial challenges in life and taught them how to manage money.

“Those lessons have served us well. He used to tell us to live beneath our means and to bank some money,” she said. “He had lived through the Depression and knew the importance of having savings. He also taught us about the ethic of working hard and also about being entrepreneurial.”

Goodman and her brother knew when they’d done something that displeased their father. “He would get wrinkles across his forehead,” she said.

Like many parents of his generation, Goodman’s father used spanking as discipline.

“When he would spank us, he would say, ‘You may not love me, but you are going to respect me!’” Goodman said, adding, “I think he knew we loved him, although maybe not as much when he spanked us.”

Knowing she would face consequences for poor decisions also shaped the adult Goodman became.

“He was a wonderful husband and father, and we were proud to call him our own,” she said.

‘My Best Friend And Supporter’

Germantown (Maryland) Patch reader Renee Wagner’s father used to ask her, “Who’s going to take care of you when I leave this Earth?”

The rhetorical question defines the strong bond Willie Wagner had with his kid, who has a trove of fond memories about their shared experiences, including seeing her first in-person NFL game at 16.

She was a student athlete.

“He went to every game and supported my adventures,” Wagner said. “He was my best friend and supporter. He is truly missed.”

‘I Was Born At Night …’

Paul Bucelato is no longer living, but his daughter, Michella Bucelato, often repeats one of his “dadisms” to her own children:

“I was born at night but not last night.”

“He would say that when he thought I was telling him an untrue story,” the Keene (New Hampshire) Patch AM reader said. “I now say it to my kids. They think it’s hilarious.”

Among the many lessons Bucelato’s late father taught her was that “humor is important in life.” Another important lesson: “Not everything is as it seems.”

Science Backs Up ‘Dadisms’

Science also supports what these readers already know: Shared laughter strengthens father-child bonds. A 2024 pilot study found that humor plays an important role in family relationships, even if researchers found no single agreement on what exactly counts as humor.

For Waukesha (Wisconsin) Patch reader Jack’s money, it’s this: “We’re lost, but we’re making good time.”

Jack’s dad, Lynn, would say that often during road trips. The destination was often a fishing hole of some sort. Many anglers trust earthworms, minnows and fancy lures, but not this father-son duo. They baited their hooks with hot dogs.

“Don’t laugh,” Jack said. “It worked.”

Nashua (New Hampshire) Patch reader Sargent recalled dad Frank’s simple advice.

“I was a teenager going on my first ever date. My dad gave me ‘the talk.’ He said, ‘Remember your name.’ And that was all he said. Every time I think about it, it makes me laugh.”

‘Sticks And Boards And Things’

My dad, George Dalbey, was funny without trying to be.

When my siblings and I get together, the conversation invariably includes someone quoting him, “Sticks and boards and things. There are enough sticks and boards and things around here; it would take a guy 10 years to haul it all away."

“Sticks and boards and things” has since become a phrase some of us use to describe an accumulation of anything that seems too good to throw away but has no practical use.

Dad’s most famous “sticks and boards and things” utterance — and there were many of them — came the summer we were sprucing up the place for a big picnic. The gas barrel every farmer had was positioned on legs over a sandbox frame, which became a place to toss sticks, loose boards, wire, tractor parts and other items that could become dangerous projectiles if hit by the lawnmower.

Dad had worked up a full head of steam. As he bellowed “sticks and boards and things,” he flung a 2 -by-4 and it hit the side of his shiny new pickup, leaving a 12-inch gash on the side of the bed.

He walked away without a word. Which was good. My sisters and I, who had been recruited to help in this endeavor, dared not look at each other. We turned our backs to hide the laughter bubbling up inside us until, once he was out of earshot, it came out in a burst.

I’d like to say the experience transformed me into a neat and tidy person. But a pile of my own sticks and boards and things is staring me down.

Do you have a favorite story about your dad? Join the conversation in the comments below.

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