Paul Whelan: A Tribute to Boz

My Dad, whose nickname was “Boz” could be a character. 

As a child, I really did not think it unusual to have a father with the name –Boz which was actually the shortened nickname given to him by his brother Allen.  Allen had called him “Bozo” which Daddy liked better than his given name of Elza.

 

During the summer’s Daddy like to take us “fishing” on a creek which was branched off the Licking River in Harrison County.  These fishing trips focused more on purchasing junk food like sardines, and when rather than waiting to catch something, he would often jump into the water and splash around.  All thoughts of fishing ended due to Dad and all seven of us kids scaring off the fish with our splashing and swimming.

 

Daddy liked candy and sweets and on occasions, us kids would raid his stash and finish it up.   While he would be upset about us getting into his candy and ice cream  bars, his greatest words of advice to us was — “If you are going to  eat all the candy, throw away the wrapper!”

 

Dad always liked to see how far he could go on a tank of gas.   On more that one occasion, he ran out of gas.

On a return trip on the Western KY Parkway (soon after it was built) from  Pennyrile State Park back to our home in Lexington, he ran out of gas somewhere west of Elizabethtown.

I remember walking with him climbing a couple of fences until we got to a farm house where he was able to buy a can of gas which would allow us to get to E-town for a fill-up.   

After Dad’s funeral one of the limos broke down on the way to the cemetery reminding us of the times when Dad ran out of gas.

 

At left is a photo of my dad, Boz Whalen taken in Venezuela.  After serving in the USAF in the early 1950s he worked for British American Tobacco Co. teaching immigrants to Venezuela how to grow tobacco.  This is prior to marrying Mom and finishing his last year at UK .