Norman Arthur Wesley Greene
A cool dude... er... Dad
There are many things for which dad will be remembered
but what I will never forget is his sense of humor.
It was a kind of an interesting, intellectual, sort of game,(a least to me).
He had such a way with words, that if he were to insult you, you would just stand there completely mystified and befuddled,thinking you were just complemented.
I learned a lot from him.
He was committed to his biblical studies in order to give the best talks possible at the Christadelphian Sunday meetings.
I could tell from the copius notes in the various sizes of three ringed binders
found on different sections of the bookshelf.
His talks were generally stimulating, even though at times,
I thought a few of them actually stimulated sleep (for me).
He was an example of that discipline and persistence it takes to become good at something.
I remember one time he was studying for a talk and he took me along with him to the botanical gardens. As a kid of probably four or five, I went off to the side playing, while he sat under a tree reading his notes aloud.
People stared at him as if to say, he's not in his right mind, however he ignored them and continued rehearsing his talk.
He didn't care what they thought, and that's where I learned persistence in doing what I know best in spite of what others might think.
We used to go swimming often.
When we went to the pool, it was usually an exercise in discipline for me.
I often had to do 24 laps before I played around with the other kids.
At the beach right before dawn however, it was much more fun.
He would do his sit ups and push ups, while I hunted crabs and jelly fish.
I learned how to eat with a knife in the right hand and fork in the left. Actually...
Mom taught me to the basics, then I went on to further my studies under the tutilage of the grand master himself...Norman Arthur Wesley Greene. And yes...
I am now quite proficient in the fine art of food intake management.
I remember one time I was about nine years old. Dad had already left for work, and I decided that I was too old (or perhaps too tall) to get chastised with the belt from my mom, for what I determined was a minor misdemeanor.
As I opened my hand to receive my due discipline, I snatched the belt out of mom’s hand, and promptly headed off to school. Well...
Apparently dad was summoned from work to correct the situation, for a few hours later, I was yanked out of school and found myself back at home receiving the remainder of my "discipline" from dad.
Only this time it was accompanied by my simultaneous recital from the bible "Honor thy father AND thy mother"
This was my introduction to basic biblical principles 101 practical.
When I became a teenager, I started looking through his book collection.Authors like Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, were of particular interest to me.
This later became the basis of my positive outlook and spared me much of the agony of those confusing teenage years.
He introduced me to classical music at a very young age, along with the other popular music at that time. This was later to become the basis of my musical talent today.
Many people remember him playing Christadelphian hymns, over and over... and over.
It takes me back to the time when I and my brothers were playing music together in New York.
A Sound City electric piano,that was bought to play in regular piano mode for the Christadelphian Sunday meeting in Manhattan, was forced to produce sounds that it was clearly not intended for, in order to accompany the drums and bass of the rock band that was developing in his basement called the Greene Brothers.
Those were the days when the term "presumptuous cockroach" (a name applied to one of his sons whose name will be withheld to protect his innocence) was used on a daily basis.
This term suggested that one of these fellows (again whose name will be withheld) was apparently not welcome to hang around and free load, without making any financial contributions to improve the outlook of the profit and loss statement and general balance sheet under his rule.
Oh yes...He was a very talented CPA
Never have I seen a person go after a fraction of a penny with such tenacity.
Well... not really, compared to mom's precision shopping at the $0.99 store.
What I never quite understood was how come, with all that knowledge, he never knew what a marijuana smelled like.
His comment was always "what's burning?"
He had a couple of nicknames given to him by his kids among which were "the Ayatollah" signifying a perceived despotic rule over the household.
A very interesting event was waiting to see what "The Ayatollah" would say when he came home from work and found the family car firmly implanted under the dividing wall of the two car garage, as a result of a driving lesson given by son # 2 to his only begotten daughter.
(who apparently at that time couldn't tell the difference between the gas pedal and the brake)
I think that was the first time I had seen a grown man cry.
He was happiest in my opinion when dealing with his grand kids.
He would laugh so heartily while playing with them or teaching them to play the piano.
In a sense I will not miss him.
He may have checked out,
But he never left.
To wrap it up.
Norman Arthur Wesley Greene ...
Dude was a cool dad...
Dad was a cool dude.
