Irving was the ringleader of all the fun things we did together as a family — the camping trips, the road trips, the track meets, and the crazy driving around on wheeled thingamabobs in parking lots – and Alzada was always right there with us, our biggest cheerleader – most of the time.

Irving could be eccentric in his ideas of having fun, nearing the edge of downright dangerous by today’s standards, but Alzada would be right by his side, exclaiming, “Oh, Irving!”

When he had the idea to put chains on his motorcycle tires to pull us around on snow skis, Alzada objected at first, as she often did (Oh, Irving!), and then complied by getting on the back to hold the tow rope.

Once, when my dad invited me for what may have been a multi-mile swim at the Swansea Dam, my mother wondered if it would be too much for me but, in I went, and I can recall feeling totally safe being near Dad, who had me relax and float when I got tired, caring for me and encouraging me all the way.

Irving also made the best babysitter because he let us do absolutely anything we wanted. One night, Alzada came home and slipped on the kitchen floor that we Cross kids had decided to “wax” with butter. My father just sat there, casually reading the paper, which he enjoyed, as if nothing were amiss – or at the very least, as if he were pretending not to notice anything was amiss. He liked telling my mother, “I never have any problem with these kids!”

Clearly, Irving’s sense of fun included mischief.

“Don’t tell your mother,” Irving would advise when we had done something that wouldn’t meet Alzada’s approval – like when Brian, age ten, flipped over a go-kart, scraped his head, and broke his glasses. Then there was the time that Dad took me out on a sailboat in the middle of Lake Sebago, which felt like the ocean to me.

And there were so many other escapades, but we were always thrilled with the adventures and would NEVER tell our mother. Of course, we could probably guess how she’d react – “Oh, Irving!”