Growing up during the Great Depression, Philip had to contend with scarcity, hand-me-downs and a dearth of education options. His older brothers and sisters had all been “guided” into a convent or the priesthood. So how did Philip become a stalwart family man and neighborhood icon? All by accident…he met Jean!
Philip had a passion for cooking, quoting Shakespeare and standing on his head. He could say stuff like “Anything you can do I can do better” and yet remain a humble man. He had to be humble as Jean, my mother, was a hard taskmaster. He once said that his existence under her driving force was “survival of the shittest.” Not one to complain, normally he was willing to be at Jean’s beck and call—perhaps for the sake of his sanity.
His story begins with a glimpse of his pre-Depression origins, then fast-forwards almost forty years to his colorful home life, favorite hobbies and the mini-obsessions that made him such a memorable character. Philip’s little recipes, his night job as a radio announcer, his board game “crimes” and his love for horse racing, golf and gardening all combine to paint the richly detailed portrait of a man we cannot help but grow to love.
