A Few of My Father’s Favorite Things

Here’s to Being Jerry

A Few of My Father’s Favorite Things
Photo by Sabine Ojeil / Unsplash

Jerry Miller


Jerome Charles Miller of Gilbertsville, Kentucky — better known as NotSoHairy to his five Twitter followers—can you tell you a thing or two about smoking pork shoulder, or about proper ISO bracketing on a sunny day, or about healthcare reform as it relates to hospital management and insurance coding, or about life in Saudi Arabia or rural Kentucky, or about making beer while in living in the monastery, or about how not to get yourself blown up when playing pranks with dynamite.

Jerry can tell you things about a lot of things because he’s so inquisitive by nature and always game for adventure. My dad’s readiness to experiment and explore has nearly had him killed on the edge of waterfalls and spelunking deep in caves. And while I appreciate having such a sense of curiosity instilled in my own nature, the lesson from my dad that I hold most dear is something else: chances are my dad is ready to share a laugh.

My dad likes to cook. But he likes the eating part even more. Dad likes taking photography. But he likes showing you the images the most. My father enjoyed the business of healthcare and (in retirement) running his county’s waterboard. But I think he really appreciates collaborating with other people foremost. He loves travel and adventure. But there is no doubt that the real bounty of these are the stories that he’ll get to share. Thinking about him, I realize the common thread to the pleasure he gets from life are activities that lead to something best shared and enjoyed with others.

And the thing I enjoy sharing with him the most: the laughs. And I feel very lucky because we’ve shared so many of them.

Happy Father’s Day, 2014.