**Giggles!**

I never really thought about this bit of information about my family, but Pop, in a way, is sort of like Luke Skywalker or even Han Solo. Born in Troy, New York, he grew up in a farming town back in the 1940s and 1950s before leaving home after his father committed suicide due to a terminal cancer, a rather sad thing to be sure, and went into the Navy to become a pilot. Pop excelled in his duty and training, earning all sorts of commendations and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Commander before retiring. He served in several submarines, a few destroyers, and an air craft carrier ... I never found out the names of the ships, but I would have been extra thrilled if he served on the Enterprise, which wouldn't have surprised me. I want to say that Pop served in the Vietnam war, though he never spoke of it ... at least not to me. He was thrilled and honored by my nephew going into the Navy and becoming a submariner himself.

I tried going into the army, but was given a medical discharge for hypertension. While I wasn't taking meds for it at the time, I felt that I couldn't take the oath to serve and not disclose the condition, even though the sergeant said that it would be ok. Not to me. I would have known and the dishonor of such an innocent act would have made me feel guilty for life. In a way, I still do.

Overalls were something that I did wear from time to time when painting or working out in the yard, often getting teased by friends who said that I worked too much and played too little. Often before I could say anything, Pop would come over and give the commenter a disapproving glare, very reminiscent of Jethro Gibbs off of NCIS, and send them on their way. And he was not above using the garden hose on some of the more obnoxious people who couldn't be respectful!

With this one,  Yokimaru really pulled the stops out and made this one a signature image of the four! Deceptively powerful, like all of them, and yet with a touch of playfulness too.

Thank you so much for this one too, my friend!