A Gorilla Ridin' on a Half a Hot Dog

By H Rick Goff

A Gorilla Ridin' on a Half a Hot Dog is a reflective look over the early lives of the Authors two sons, Justin and Austin (not twins and actually 5 years apart). The book consists of observations by the Author of his two boys as they were growing up and innocently experiencing life. The book will make the reader smile, laugh and maybe cry just a little.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781503569539

H Rick Goff

H Rick Goff is a veteran who served 20 years in the USAF and currently works as a corporate executive—he is also an aspiring author. King Kong Ridin on a Half a Hotdog is his first work though many other projects are in his head. H. Rick’s hobbies include golf (hacker at best), hiking (not Appalachian Trail but walks through the woods), skydiving (did it once but would do it again), zip lining (love it) and fishing (fresh water not deep sea fishing—gets seasick!!). Rick’s life is sustained by his Family and his Faith.

Book preview

A Gorilla Ridin’ on a Half a Hot Dog

H Rick Goff

Copyright © 2015 by H Rick Goff.

ISBN:      Softcover           978-1-5035-6954-6

                  eBook                  978-1-5035-6953-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 05/13/2015

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

710416

CONTENTS

Boy Phrases

Pancakes

When Do I Get My Wife Back?

It Could Happen

I Didn’t Do It

It Was Just A Fender Bender

Who Knew?

Homework

Sports Are Just Not Me

I Just Figured It Out

Football

Justin in Church (Written by Justin Goff Age 9)

Smoldering Pajamas on the Driveway

Implied Tasks

Camping Trip

Freeze Ray

We’re Going to Oklahoma on a Ship

First Time Fishing

Tommy and Duke

Just Watch Me

Excerpts from Christmas Letters Past

Why This Book

This book is dedicated to my wife Carol, my two knuckleheads, Justin and Austin (not twins) and to all fathers of boys!

Raising kids, boys in particular, in the world we live in today is a daunting task that requires very unique skills. Well maybe not so much skill but at the very least, patience and a willingness to stay in the batters box with a 90-plus fastball aimed directly at your head. With all of the distractions that our young men face, we as Fathers, have to make sure that we are heard above all the other chatter i.e. video games, phone calls, loud music, text, tweets etc! We have to talk louder (yell in some cases) to make sure that we are not only heard but clearly understood—I’m not sure this is really possible with boys—hard to think they can actually hear you and understand you at the same time! We have to make sure that we understand that the psychological makeup of boys prevents them from grasping a concept as complicated as paying attention and actually doing what they are told and most importantly when they are told to do it! I really shouldn’t try to get too analytical here because I am not a degreed child psychologist; the only qualification I possess is that I AM A FATHER—the Father of two boys who are now Men. The Father of two knuckleheads who over the years have made me laugh and cry (sometimes both at the same time), but most importantly they have made and help me understand what and who I truly am.

The title was inspired by my oldest son Justin. It’s a simple story that is powerful in its simplicity. As a young child I can remember looking up and without giving it much thought, see that a cloud formation resembled something familiar. I can recall seeing the faces of various things from people to animals in cloud formations. I have seen the most common things like Abraham Lincoln’s face, a lion and even my fifth grade teacher Mrs. Boyd (she was one of my favorite teachers of all time). My point here is that I can only recall seeing things that were somewhat familiar to me. I taught (well we did it a lot) my boys the art of cloud watching at an early age and it’s something that we always enjoyed (I still do today).