A very early memory of Dad?
Carrie- I remember Dad trying to teach me to play chess, in Australia. I would zoom my pieces over by his queen and say, "I don't want to take you, I just want to talk to you."
Rachel- Doing tricks with Dad, where he would fling me around through the air, onto his shoulders, onto the couch. It felt death-defying and completely safe all at once.
Sarah- What comes to mind is me and the snake at the sand pit in the blue house but I don't remember how old I was, 4 maybe. Getting carried in from the car.
Claire - Once when I was sick, I came out of bed around midnight, and watched Saturday Night Live with Dad in the dark living room. It was the first time I realized there were things happening in the world after my bedtime.
Vivian- Him offering to pay us $1 to do feats of strength at the pool. Also watching Rocketman in the theater and then driving home all crazy-like.
Beth- "watch me Dad. DAD! AGAIN!! WATCH ME! Watch MEEEE Dad!! AGAIN! DAAAADDD!!"
Is there a joke you learned from Dad that you now repeat?
Carrie- "Thanks for having us." "Thanks for being had."
Rachel- "What's the matter, don't you trust me?" Is there even a joke associated with that, or is that the whole joke? I don't even know.
Sarah- "I don't know that guy (the Pope) but the other guys John Swarts" and there's always King Kong doing the dishes. I can't say I repeat them though.
Claire- Only in my head.
Vivian- California border guard: "Anything to declare?" Dad: "What do you need?'
Beth - "Do you know Guy Ashby?"
A time Dad surprised you, or you surprised him?
Carrie- I decided to surprise Dad once by hiding in the backseat of his truck when he was going somewhere. He thought he was alone until we arrived and I popped up and said, "Hi Dad!" I'm actually really lucky that I survived, because there was a moment there when he might have taken my head off.
Rachel- Dad took me fishing with one of his friends when I was really young and I was so excited, especially when we actually caught a fish. There were three surprises: 1) I was surprised to learn the fish die at the end of fishing, 2) Dad was surprised by how hard I cried, and 3) Dad's friend was surprised he let the fish go for me.
Sarah- what comes to mind is hide n go seek in the dark. You just know that He's in the closet, staircase, other room etc. because you saw him go in there then he grabs you by the neck a minuet later.
Claire- I went out of town for Christmas, and by the time I came back Dad had torn out the awful 1979 etched mirror wall in my living room, and painted us an amazing mural.
Advice from Dad that you took to heart (or didn't)
Carrie- Dad rarely gave serious advice about big life decisions. He really tried hard to let us plot our own lives. But when I was trying to decide if I should go to medical school, he broke his own rule and told me he thought I should go. It was such a relief to have him just SAY it, and it made up my mind. I've always been really grateful for that little boost of courage from him.
Rachel- "Hit first, hit hard, run fast." I put this to practice when Carrie and I had a telenovella fight and I knocked Carrie's ice cream out of her hand and ran away. (haha I just thought of this the other day- Sarah)
Sarah- "Bring home the good drugs" and Give everyone the benefit of the doubt
Claire- Maybe just a general teaching that I was capable of learning new things, and doing hard things. He never really sold us short, you know? It helped.
Vivian- I was trying to decide between an intership program in Washington DC or study abroad in England and dad said "England sounds more fun". He was right.
If you could go on an outing with Dad, where would you go and what would you do?
Carrie- It's on my bucket list to go to a World Cup soccer game with Dad. My goodness that would be fun.
Rachel- A roadtrip across Canada.
Sarah- I was also thinking Canada. The Olympics, a soccer game, or Oregon
Claire- I’d have him show me around Australia.
Vivian- to a modern art museum
Beth - Hardware store. Make metal art.
Something Dad made or fixed for you?
Carrie- every time that I turn on the light over my sink when I'm washing dishes I think about Dad. How did I even manage before that was there? He was so tired that day from fixing all my other things, but he doped up with some caffeine and ibuprofen and installed one more thing for me, and it's changed my life.
Rachel- After last week, it feels like he fixed everything around the new house. He also made me a bookshelf years ago that I still use and love; no one else has anything like it.
Sarah- Shade, shelves, necklaces. He once got me hooked up to tv/cable when I lived in the nunnery.
Claire- Yeah, this is a tough question. I mean...everything? I think the most impactful to me might be when he came to Atascadero before I even moved in, and made one bedroom into two- to be ready for when we finally came down after Mae was born. That time in our life was crazy, and it was super nice to have someone take on that project.
Vivian- remember that time he knocked out a wall and installed a 4-paneled sliding glass door, that changed the entire flow of my house?? Also lots of shelves.
Beth- A freaking rad HOUSE.
Something you remember Dad making in the kitchen
Carrie- I remember Dad's secret ingredient was sugar. Chinese food? Add a little sugar. Marinara sauce? sugar. Potato soup? Goes down easier with a little sugar. We always made such a fuss about his Sunday dinners, and he finally told us why we liked them so much.
Rachel- Beverages. Smoothies, juice mixes, lemonade, orange juice from his oranges, hot chocolate...always good beverages with Dad.
Sarah- Rach I thought you would say Happy Juice (Kool-Aid). Sunday dinner, drinks we sat around once thinking if we had a restaurant what would we serve and he said different mixed drinks.
Claire- Egg rolls. Butterfish. Homemade corn dogs.
Vivian- Breakfast at the Farris house
Beth - Chinese food on Sundays.
Favorite Dad Halloween costume?
Carrie- I wasn't lucky enough to see it in person, but Blue Man was pretty memorable.
Rachel- the vampire, where he took a red marker around with him to leave bite marks on his victims.
Sarah- The vampire was a classic. Any good scary mask makes me think of him.
Claire- I only remember the vampire. Because it sort of felt like that was his true self, and the rest of the year was a costume.
Vivian- werewolf
Who is Dads favorite?
Sarah- Me
Claire- Me
Vivian- I don't think there's any debate here.
Beth - Sorry guys.
Carrie- I'm assuming you guys all know it's Rachel, right?
