Saturdays With Dad

By Nancy Avedikian

Saturdays with Dad is a collection of memories about endearing times the author spent with her dad. Being the son of Italian immigrants who grew up during the Depression he was very practical and knew how to "stretch a dollar." Although he was strict in disciplining his daughter he always treated her lik

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Nov 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9781647539955

Nancy Avedikian

Mrs. Avedikian is a retired bilingual teacher who taught children in grades PK through 3rd. After retiring she tutored middle school students, worked part-time as a translator for the school district, and taught English classes for Spanish-speaking adults. She graduated from North Lake Community College with an Associate Degree as an Administrative Assistant. She later received a B.A. in Spanish Literature from the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. She lives in Chandler, TX with her husband of 53 years. They are active in their local church and have been involved in ministry their entire married life. The author and her husband are the proud grandparents of 5 grandchildren. In her childhood the author was an avid reader and always dreamed of one day becoming a published author. Her hope is that all who read her books will come to know the Lord.

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Saturdays with Dad

Copyright © 2021 by Nancy Avedikian. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

The opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily those of URLink Print and Media.

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Published in the United States of America

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021920656

ISBN 978-1-64753-993-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64753-994-8 (Hardback)

ISBN 978-1-64753-995-5 (Digital)

29.09.21

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my dad who I miss dearly but is now with the Lord.

Contents

Acknowledgements

Prologue

The Cider Mill

The Italian Market

Christmas Presents

The Beach

The Swing

The Typewriter

My Sickness

Clean Your Room!

Good Bye Dad!

Acknowledgements

I want to thank my husband and my family for encouraging me to write Saturdays With Dad. I also want to thank my dear friend Luz Cardenas for all her support in editing my original book, Sábados con papá, which was written in Spanish.

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Sgt. Joseph Guarraia circa 1943

Prologue

What can I say about my dad—he was tall and handsome and always wore a thin mustache which he groomed every day. He was a hard worker as well as a strict disciplinarian, but who also had a good sense of humor. He was a drill sergeant in the Army Air Corps during WWII so he insisted on always having our house clean and in order.

I never realized how hard he had to work to provide for our family and to break free from the prejudice that immigrant families had to endure in those days. He succeeded in doing this in our community and won the respect of all who knew and worked with him. My dad, Giuseppe, who later changed his name to Joseph (Joe) was so proud to be an American!

My dad was the oldest of six siblings and grew up on 20 acres of land together with his uncle and aunt and all the cousins. During the Depression years money was tight and times were tough, but they managed to live a good life.

I learned so much about life from my dad and to this day I still miss him. You see I was only 14 years old when he died. For many years I was angry with God and couldn’t understand why He would allow this tragedy in my life. As I grew older I realized that the Lord does allow these experiences in our lives so that we will come to Him and put our faith and trust in Him.

The Cider Mill

"Hurry up, Nancy! Are you ready yet? What a gorgeous day this is. Let’s go to the cider mill and spend the afternoon in the