Dad's Epic Retirement Party

I am so glad I was able to go to Dad’s retirement luncheon!  I’m grateful to Michael for taking care of everything at home so that I could go. 

February 11, Thursday

On Thursday morning, I saw the boys out the door and went to get my hair done.  It was a little too brown this time but that’s ok.  I got all packed up and went to the airport but quickly realized that my flight was delayed. I was pretty excited that I had time to go to Cowboy Ciao and get a Stetson salad. I haven't had one of those in about 20 years. I remember eating one when we went there in Scottsdale for a fancy dinner way back when we lived in Apache Junction. Anyway, the flight was delayed about an hour. I had a window seat so that was nice. There was quite a bit of turbulence on the flight. I ate my salad and enjoyed it thoroughly. I had done a check in for Enterprise so I went straight to the garage and I got a Camry and drove to the hotel. I drove across the Courtney Campbell Causeway and sang along to the radio. I easily checked in and got to my room and got ready for bed. By the time I got there it was 12:30 AM.

 

February 10, Friday

Wow, what an epic day! I had my alarm set to wake up at 8:30 AM but I was awoken at probably about 8 AM by a super loud garbage truck. I got up and started getting ready. I think it was around 10:30 AM when I left. It took me about 30 to 40 minutes to get there. I got there right at 11:30 AM like Karen asked me to. She put me in a little empty storage room with some desks and tables and I waited in there until it was time to come out. I heard Ken Marks get started and introduce some new managers. Then Karen Jones came to get me. I was so nervous I couldn't even sit down while I was waiting. I was nervous Dad would come back there or something but he never did. I walked out and it took him a minute for it to register. He said it was like time stood still for a minute while he figured out what was going on. He stretched his arms out wide and laughed with joy. I'm so glad they got it on video! I really, really wanted them to and they did. They also got some good pictures, which I'm grateful for. His first question was, “How did this happen?” I laughed and said, “I got on a plane.” 

I sat with him while they continued to surprise him. They gave him a very cool gift which was a Bible that had some important US documents at the back, like the Declaration of Independence. It also was signed by Lee Greenwood. To make it even cooler, they had a pre-recorded video message from Lee Greenwood. It was personalized and he was really talking to Dad and wishing him a happy retirement. In it, he joked that Dad should go to Florida but he already lives there. 

They had two people from the Sheriff's Youth Ranch come up and say some very nice things about Dad. Their names are Scott and Teresa. It was cool to meet them today. 

Then there were messages from Chuck Urban, who he worked with for many years in Tallahassee.

There was another video call with Eric Clark who is the IT guy Chuck Joachim who does their insurance. 

Camaray Simmons who does their social media was also there. She lives in Tampa and it's pretty rare for her to come in so Dad was pretty happy about that. 

Ken Marks got up and talked about me for a little while and talked about SweetLeaf and Dad going to NASCAR with us. Then he asked me to get up and say a few words, which I hadn't been warned about so I was pretty nervous. I can't even remember what I said. I know I said that Karen Jones had reached out to me on Facebook and at first, I didn't think I could go but then I thought, well why not? Michael said I should go and I moved some things in my schedule around and got the plane tickets and planned the trip. I mentioned how Dad is really good at surprises but it's very hard to surprise him back so I was excited that this worked out and I was able to surprise him today. I thought about telling the story about how dad surprised us on Emily's first birthday but there wasn't much time and everybody was waiting for the lunch so I didn't mention that. I said how I'm Dad's only daughter, only child, and how he has always been there for me over the years. I said that I know everybody knows how he is at work but that he's also a wonderful father. I remember saying that he's the best dad I could ever ask for. I remember saying that he's a great example to me of loving and serving others in many different ways. I have no idea what I said at the end, but I think it was something about how I was grateful I could make it there. Afterwards, Ken Marks said I did a good job and that he hadn't told me about it so I wouldn't worry about it so I guess it's just as well. He's right, I would've stressed. I generally speak pretty well on the fly. I know I got choked up in the middle and I didn't quite know what to say. One of the new manager guys came up to me afterwards and said I made him cry. So, I guess everybody got my intention and understood the message I was trying to get across. 

After that, Ken asked Dad to lead everyone in the Pledge of Allegiance. Dale gave a prayer. Then everybody started eating. Ken asked Dad and I to go first. They had all kinds of barbecue and it was really good. I had the brisket. I enjoyed sitting with Dad and talking with Terri Marks. She is lovely, inside and out. She had her grandson Beckham with her and he was adorable. They had had grandparents’ day at his school that morning and he told them they could take him home and she couldn't resist. He seemed a little bored but probably preferred to be there instead of school. He had fun playing with the balloons. Linda Drake had made the centerpieces and they had a real piston in them that had been cleaned up. They made a point of telling Dad that he should take one home and they also had a bouquet of roses for me to take home. Some people came up and greeted us and said how much they will miss Dad. It was very nice. They had two really nice cakes. One was for Dad's retirement and one was for all of the birthdays. 

We got some pictures taken. He talked a little more with the two people from the Sheriff's Youth Ranch. I talked a little more with Terri. Ken said the band was coming at 3 PM. I think by then it was almost 2 PM. Dad took me over to the main building and showed me around. It's really nice! He showed me Karen's office and one of the conference rooms. He showed me his old office where Linda is now situated. It's right next to Ken Marks's office. They're attached and there's a glass wall between them. 

He had a little cubicle in the accounting room where he's been sitting to give Linda her space. There are three other girls in that area. He was helping somebody with something and then when he was done, he wanted to go pick up a seat for the four-wheeler, but Ken had asked me to keep him there because the band had already arrived and they were setting up and so if he went outside he would've seen them. I had a really hard time keeping him from going to get that seat. Once he has something in his mind that he needs to do, there's no stopping him but somehow, I made it work. I kept asking him about pictures and then we talked to the girls in the office. Finally, I texted Ken and told him that I was having a hard time because he wanted to go get that seat. When Dad realized I was trying to stop him, he asked somebody to go get the seat for him. I knew he was onto me. Apparently, the place where the seat was was going to close early that day so he wanted to make sure he got it. Ken called me and I went into the lunchroom and told him what a hard time I was having and he sent some people up to talk to Dad to stall for more time. Finally, Linda came to get him and take him downstairs. She told him Ken needed help at the delivery area. They took him out the side door and Ken's Kids were out there, some of the kids from the Sheriff's Youth Ranch. They had been picked up from school to come over and see Dad. I think there were about eight of them. Dad was so excited to see them. I was relieved because I knew he would think that was why I was stalling. He later admitted he did. 

Then he wanted to take the seat that he was holding that the lady had given him and put it in his car, so I told him, you stay here and I'll go put it in my rental car. The bummer was, while I was gone doing that, that's when the band showed up so I missed Dad's initial reaction to that but apparently, he was pretty happy about it. I got it on video when he looked at me and said, is this why you were trying to keep me from leaving? I laughed and played innocent but he knew. We enjoyed quite a few numbers from the band. 

They played the National Anthem and God Bless the USA. 

They played the Macarena and did the dance to it so we all got a chuckle out of that. 

They played We are the Champions by Queen and Celebration by Kool and the Gang. 

They played a couple more that I can't remember, but I got most of it on video. After that, we got some pictures with the band. 

I took pictures for Ken of the original four who used to be at Ken Marks Ford. That's Ken, Dad, Karen Jones, and Cameron Ker. 

We said our goodbyes. Dad looked at Ken and said I don't know how I can thank you enough. We walked back into the building where the luncheon was, which is going to be the used car building. The Sheriff's Youth Ranch kids were in there having some of the leftover food which was nice. One of the boys came up to Dad and said, thank you for showing us what true service is. I don't know if those were his exact words but they are pretty close. Dad was really touched and talked about it quite a few times the rest of the night. We said our goodbyes to them. Dad needed to go pick up the four-wheeler so we took his truck over to get the trailer and to pick it up. That took some time because it didn't fit on the trailer so they had to make an adjustment and take off something called spacers to get it on there. They needed a special tool to remove the spacers, and the guy who could sell it to them showed up right when they needed him to and now Dad has the tool to do it himself later. While Dad was dealing with all that, I was talking to Michael because he found out that Daniel was going to be having a lot more kids over so I called Papa John's and they were able to add three more pizzas to our order. I told Michael he needed to go to the store to get more soda, some cookies, and a veggie tray. He said he would handle all that. Once the four-wheeler got loaded, Dad drove me over to get my rental car and then we headed back to Palm Harbor. He went home and I went to the hotel. I had some texts and things to deal with on my phone. Debbie was with Dad when they picked me up. I gave her a hug and got in the back. Dad had mentioned going to Bonefish Grill. I had made a reservation at 7:30 PM and we tried to get in earlier. We showed up at 6:30 PM and they said they couldn't give us an earlier reservation and the wait was an hour and that they would text us when it was our turn. So, we wasted a little time and Dad drove us around the Sheriff's Youth Ranch and showed us some things. Then we drove over to Publix so I could get some cookies. Then we drove back to the restaurant and there were some nice chairs outside and it was a very pleasant night so we sat out there and waited for a while. I tried again to get them to get us in earlier and they said they were waiting for people to leave. We got a picture. 

Finally, they got us a table at a nice booth. The dinner was delicious! I love their corn and lump crab chowder. I got a cup and Debbie got a bowl and she loved it, too. I ordered the butterfish, which was the same thing I had when we were at Daytona and it was amazing again. After dinner, Dad drove me back to the Howard Johnson's. I said my goodbyes to Debbie and came back to my hotel room. I've spent the last two hours trying to get caught up on my phone and my emails. Ken Marks texted us a bunch of pictures and Karen Jones emailed me a bunch of pictures. She sent me 14 emails, all with pictures attached. That was so nice of her. She and I texted back-and-forth and I thanked her a lot. Earlier, when I was waiting for Dad and Debbie to pick me up, I texted Ken Marks and thanked him again for all he did for Dad and for including me. I talked to Michael and he said everything was fine at the house. Apparently, the kids went to the park to play soccer and then came back and ate. There was enough food, so that's good. Now it's finally time for me to go to bed.

 

February 11, Saturday

I got up this morning at 7:30 AM so I could get ready and get checked out. Dad picked me up and helped me load my stuff in the car and then we went to Chiefland to the ranch. He said it would take two hours but it was closer to 2 1/2 hours. We stopped at a McDonald's on the way so I could use the bathroom since there's nowhere to go there. It was a really nice drive and a really nice day. I had a great time talking to Dad. He said he's a little bit sad that he won't be able to go into the office on Monday and reminisce with everybody about what a fantastic retirement celebration it was. He said he hadn't really thought about that. He'll have lots of opportunities to go back there and say hi to people. He still does a lot of things for Ken, such as go up to the ranch. He brought the four-wheeler up. When we were leaving, he told me that he wasn't going to try and meet with those two guys which was a relief because we wouldn't have had time. We got there and he unloaded the four-wheeler and put it in the garage. We took a few pictures and I took a video so I could send them to Ken since he asked for them. 

We spent about 10 minutes there and then got back in the car and left. It was quicker getting back. We talked about so many different things. We talked about the kids. We talked about the trip to Las Vegas and him coming out to Phoenix. We made it to Chicken Salad Chick near his house on 19 by 2 PM. I had the one with fruit and it was good, as always. We enjoyed our meal and then Dad drove me about 10 minutes away to the Howard Johnson's where I had left the rental car. He waited for me to get organized and I gave him one more hug and then I left. I got to the airport right around 3:30 PM when I wanted to. There weren't very many people on my flight. I was thrilled that the two seats next to me were empty! I took advantage of the empty seats next to me and laid down. I think I took a nap for about an hour. I got home easily and did some unpacking. I watched some TV with the boys and went to bed.

It was a wonderful trip!  Congratulations, Dad!