Stories about Dan
From Silly to Serious.. Because he was all of those!
If you want to share stories about Dan contact danshaferlegacy@gmail.com
& The ampersand &
Continuation
A little less than a year before he died, Dad had a very very close call, but pulled yet another miracle on us. It was sort of what we had come to expect, these miraculous recoveries. In fact, he often said “How usual,” when faced with the miraculous. I knew that we would be allotted only so many close calls. This got me thinking, and I asked him if he had any favorite symbols. He told me two things; the ampersand and a circle with wings. For our family, we have really adopted the ampersand symbol as “his" symbol. We are even all planning on getting the symbol tattooed (well, 3 out of the 4 of us!) I love having this symbol as his symbol. It's shown up many times, in unexpected ways. A spaghetti noodle, in the straps of a hastily sat down purse, a "dirt mark" on a windowsill. We see it as a message from him. He's still with us in spirit. watching over us.
It’s not over, continuation, more to come.
By Heather
Struck Speechless
I have it on good authority that Dan Shafer was actually once struck speechless!
Struck Speechless
Yes, everyone, as incredible as it seems, I have it on good authority that Dan Shafer was actually once struck speechless! He told me the tale himself!
It was September in 1978.Dan and his wife Carolyn used to delight in attending the Monterey Jazz Festival. For those not familiar with it, this festival is always in late September starting in the late afternoon to early evening on Friday and ending late at night on Sunday. They get a huge selection of jazz musicians and singers to perform and it is held in the Monterey County Fairgrounds. Several stage areas are set up to accommodate the artists and fans.
This one festival, there was a break between acts Dan and Carolyn wanted to see so they decided to get something to eat and drink. Since they both had differing tastes in food, they decided to split up and picked a spot to meet back up at and from there find a place to sit and enjoy their snacks.
Carolyn found a stand selling a favorite dessert. Sweet potato pie! She got herself a slice and a soda, then went to the meet up spot to wait for Dan. As she waited, a man approached her.
“Excuse me,” he said, “but is that… sweet potato pie?”
She said yes it was.The man got every enthusiastic and asked her where she had found it. She gave the man directions to the stand and the two chatted about growing up in the South. (Carolyn hails from Miami, Florida.)
Meanwhile, Dan had found his snack and also stopped to purchase a poster depicting a favorite musician, Dizzy Gillespie. He was making his way to the meet up spot when he saw Carolyn and the man chatting.He froze. He made a few inarticulate noises. This alerted Carolyn and the man she was chatting with to Dan’s presence. Dizzy Gillespie looked over at Dan and saw the poster he was clutching.
“Would you like me to autograph that for you, son?” he asked. Dan had not recovered his ability to speak yet. So he merely nodded. The famous musician autographed Dan’s new poster with the only writing instrument they had available. A pencil.
This poster, with Gillespie’s barely visible autograph, currently hangs in the hallway of the home his wife Carolyn shares with his daughter Krista.
Written by Krista Shafer
You are Wrong!
When Krista caught him in a mistake (admittedly this was not very often),
“You Are Wrong”
This happened in late 2007 or early 2008, not certain which. Dan called his daughter, Krista. After the usual greetings, Dan told her that he was having a debate with someone and that he needed her help to settle it. Of course she agreed to lend whatever assistance she could.
“The guy who voices Shrek in the movies,” Dan began, “is Dana Carvey, right?”
“No,” Krista answered.“That’s Mike Myers.”
“Isn’t Mike Myers the one who plays The Church Lady in Saturday Night Live?” Dan asked.
“No,” Krista said again, “that’s Dana Carvey.”
There was a moment of silence.
“I thought Dana Carvey voiced Shrek and Mike Myers did the Church Lady,” Dan said.
“I hate to have to say this to you Dad,” Krista began. Pause.“That’s not true. I am going to ENJOY saying this to you Dad.” Krista held the phone about an arm’s length from her face. Very loudly, very clearly she said “YOU. ARE.WRONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG!!!” When she brought the phone back up to her ear, her dad was laughing very hard!
This became a running joke between father and daughter. When Krista caught him in a mistake (admittedly this was not very often), Krista would declare loudly “YOU. ARE.WRRRRRRONG!” Then she would grin and declare it was still fun to say. Dan held out hope that one day it would stop being so much fun, but I can confidently state that has not yet happened.
Wrapped Around Einsteins Paws
“No, I have HIM trained!” Dan declared.
Wrapped Around Einstein’s Paws
Dan’s third daughter, Krista, was visiting him, her stepmother, and of course their adorable pup Einstein for a weekend. It was a Saturday morning and Carolyn (Dan’s wife) had made everyone a lovely breakfast of over easy eggs, buttered toast, and soy bacon which Dan liked to call “facon”.
When Dan finished his plate, there were crumbs from the toast, smears of egg yolk, and bits of egg white. Dan put his plate on the floor and Einstein came over and began licking the plate clean enough to put back in the cabinet!
Krista, who was still eating, chuckled softly. “Boy, Dad he sure has you trained!” she teased.
Dan looked somewhat affronted. “No, I have HIM trained!” Dan declared. “I put the plate down, he comes to ME!”
Krista was not sure how to handle this. She merely stammered “Ummm…”
Carolyn leaned closer to her and said quietly “Let him have the delusion, honey.”
Krista nodded.“Okay.” She turned to her father. “Okay Daddy!” she said cheerfully. Dan looked somewhat perplexed, but made no further comment.