happy Father’s Day to Inigo Montoya’s father (and mine)
When, in summer 2018, I texted my parents that I had arrived at my airport gate and was waiting to board, my dad replied, “Have fun storming the castle!”
“Maybe literally,” I texted back to my dad, on my way to study abroad for a month. “Ireland has castles.”
Whether I’m just leaving the house to run an errand or going back to Lexington after a visit, my dad has often quoted this line from The Princess Bride. After bringing Westley back from “mostly dead,” Miracle Max sends off him, Inigo, and Fezzik as they attempt to rescue Princess Buttercup.
If you know The Princess Bride well, you know what dialogue comes next. Valerie, Miracle Max’s wife-not-witch, says, “Think it’ll work?” Miracle Max mutters, “It would take a miracle.”
If you know Shane Vandiver well, you know he would never quote that part of the scene—at least not while talking about his children’s pursuit of their goals.
From coaching softball (and volleyball and basketball) to re-learning geometry concepts during late-night panics about homework, my dad has always done anything in his power to do what his four children need and to help us achieve what we want.
One of the examples most special to me is when my dad flew to Washington, D.C., during my senior year of college to attend the Associated Collegiate Press awards ceremony. The Kentucky Kernel was up for a Pacemaker award for my year as editor-in-chief. Endlessly proud of the work our team did, I desperately wanted to win that award, and I was very nervous.
The announcer said 15 four-year colleges had been awarded a Pacemaker, and my nerves grew as newspaper after newspaper was called. When the Kernel was announced 14th, my dad was the one who recorded our cheers as I went to accept the plaque on the team’s behalf.
I was really happy my dad was there. He was the only parent there to attend the awards ceremony and visit the U.S. Capitol with a bunch of college students. That’s often been true of both my mom and my dad—my siblings and I like our parents and our friends tend to like our parents, too, so they’re around when other parents aren’t.
It’s hard to adequately express thanks or give gifts to a dad who has done so much for his family and who always welcomes people to enjoy his house or pool but sternly warns them not to leave anything behind—he doesn’t want any more “junk.” So recently, his main gift requests have been “consumables,” like a Jersey Mike’s gift card for his solo lunch breaks from work. Despite some who might think eating alone is sad or lame, my dad likes it—“I’m good company,” he says. That’s one of many Shane Vandiver sayings that have become part of the Vandiver family lexicon, along with most of the script of The Princess Bride.
So if you ever find yourself buying a gift for my dad, go for orange slices or a container of peanuts.
No more rhymes now, I mean it.