The Ol’ Buzzard, aka Roy Wilfrid “Chic” Johnston
Father’s Day was always special because the Ol’ Buzzard was born on June 18th. His birthday always fell on or near Father’s Day.
Today, June 18th, the Ol’ Buzzard is 100 years old. One hundred years old! That’s like a century or something.
The Ol’ Buzzard was on the planet for 82 of those 100 years. He has spent the last 18 years serving time somewhere else.
The Ol’ Buzzard was my term of endearment for my father, Roy Wilfrid “Chic” Johnston. He did not mind me calling him an old buzzard. He had a term of endearment for me, which most people would not consider a term of endearment. That is all you need to know.
I do not know where Roy came from, but my grandmother told me she got Wilfrid from Canada’s seventh prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Chic was a childhood nickname that stuck with Dad for life.
Mom called Dad Roy when she was not upset. When Mom shouted, “Wilfrid! Wilfrid!” we knew Dad was in deep caca for something. Most people called Dad Chic and did not know his real name until his funeral.
For some reason, this memory came to mind today. My brother and I would ask Dad questions about sexual intercourse and sexual outercourse. We were in our early teens and already knew the answers, but we asked Dad to watch him squirm as he stuttered and paused to answer our questions. He was so nervous, and never noticed my brother and me hiding our giggles.
