You dig me!?

I've been thinking about my Pop a lot lately. He's been on my mind cause he's been having some health problems, but he's okay now. And let me tell you, my Pop is cool as hell. He's got a really twisted-weird sense of humor that me and my brother both get, but that baffles my Mom. And he's a damn good person too, so it's pretty easy to love him. But one of the coolest things about my Pop is that he incorporates slang or popular gestures from a few years ago into his vernacular. It's charmingly embarrassing to watch. For instance, about 4 years ago, my Pop all the sudden stuck his fist out for a "pound" when I was at his house. Stunned, but also a little impressed, I gave him a "pound". So that was cool (even though "pounding" had been deemed passé years earlier), but my favorite of his appropriations reared it's head when my brother and I were really young. Back in like, 1982-1983 times, Pop was yelling at us for one thing or another (we could be complete pricks back then, so I'm sure we deserved it)...but, end his yelling, he says, really loudly,"YOU DIG ME!!??" Holy shit! "YOU DIG ME!!??" That phrase hasn't been cool since the mid seventies! And he was really pissed, so I could tell he really meant it. We had better goddamn dig him, if we knew what was good for us. It was so hard not to giggle at him, but I couldn't giggle...I think Pop would have exploded where he stood if I had even smiled. He was that mad. And, you really have to know my Pop to really appreciate how scary he is when he's yelling at you. He's 6'4", very solid, and he has these steely blue-gray eyes that could stop a man in his tracks. He has this one awesome expression where he just stares at you...without blinking...and he's not quite frowning, but not quite grimacing...but you know he ain't pleased...and he's dead silent...that one is great. It's what I call the "you're fired from the family" look. I've broken that one out myself in one or two circumstances, and it's highly effective when you're trying to make some one feel about 2 inches tall. Anyway, the point of that sidebar was to illustrate how damn imposing my Pop can be. So, picture that guy...yelling at you (and you're about 6 years old)...and he ends the rant with "YOU DIG ME!!??". That's funny. It's like all the badassness just drained out of the man the minute he uttered those words. But you can't laugh...that would be like asking him to destroy you. But secretly, I always laughed a little bit later. Behind his back. At the other end of the house. Into a pillow. My Pop is so cool, you know you're jealous.