Friday, May 06, 2005
My dad, my best friend
| My dad has always been my best man friend, I hope when I see him tomorrow he can hear me. Time is drawing near for us to be separated by an unknown barrier. I might not be able to call him and ask for his advise or help with a problem. He has never been a man who offered advise unless he was asked, he always thought we all had it in ourselves to solve our own problems if we looked hard enough. Yet, if asked he would answer honestly and to the best of his ability, some times he’d say, "I’m not sure, I’ve not been in that situation, but you might try........................" He’d always take time to help a neighbor, a friend or a stranger or whomever might ask his help. I can’t remember him ever being personally critical of a boned head stunt I pulled. Now, he’d tell me if I embarrassed him and he’d tell me if he thought he had the answer to my predicament. And I do remember getting my arse whomped as a kid, if I needed it (and I always did). I mostly remember his encouragement to keep trying and to do better, do the best I could, was all he asked. Why has it taken his life being threatened by cancer for me to realize this? He taught me so much. I am capable of so many functions, all because of who he is, who he was and how he lives his life. He has had an unquenchable thirst for knowledge of how things work. Mechanical things, things that matter in day to day life, how to repair, how to build, how to accomplish anything I desire. I am able to rebuild auto engines, transmissions and rear ends, or install brakes because he took the time to teach me when I was young. I am successful in the building industry as a result of his encouragement. I can weld anything, the list goes on and on, and I owe it all to my dad. He has continued to learn, if he finds a problem he needs to solve and is not familiar with the mechanism, he’ll buy a tech manual and school him self proficiently enough to accomplish his task. I have watched him repair tv’s, radio’s and anything he needed, or his family needed. He did this without a college education or any schooling except what he got in the service, only a thirst for knowledge. His greatest advise and mantra is "Work hard and persevere, you can do what ever you want if you really want it!" He is a good man. He needs our prayers for a miracle. Don’t wait until your dad’s sick, call him and tell him you love him. |
