Happy Father's Day DAD

My DAD, he is a hoot. He is a one of a kind. He's taken a licking and kept on ticking. There is no back up in him, but if you are waiting for him, you are backing up. He thought he was wrong once but he was wrong about what he thought. Patient he is not but good hearted and dedicated he has been from the very start. He asks too much but always gives back even more. If it is broken, he can fix it more times than not. If he hasn't been there yet, he's probably planning to go. If he doesn't know, he wants to find out.

He started out in life with nothing and has worked very hard his entire life. Whenever it became necessary, he picked himself up and dusted himself off and he started all over again from scratch.When he was sixty, he could outwork three 20 year olds on any given day. After 72 years of living, when he looks himself in the mirror, he sees a person that never went out of his way to cause harm to anyone despite what others have done to him. At 6 foot 3, he might give the impression that he is big and mean. When it comes to his daughters his heart always melts, then he turns from a grizzly bear to a teddy bear in a split second. He is a man of few words, however he is a man of action. Though he doesn't often show the tender side of his personality, he takes the time to pick out the most beautiful birthday cards with just the right words. My DAD's not old fashioned in any way. Unlike most people of his generation, he doesn't get nostalgic for the "good old days". He hates black and white movies and "old timey" stuff. He moves always toward the future. Modern technology draws him like a moth to light.

He's more well informed than most. He keeps a constant eye on the world. He warns that younger generations need to do the same before it's too late. He's never afraid to voice his opinion even when faced with strong opposition. He cares what happens to this planet and our civilization even though he knows he may not be here to see it come to pass. He has taught me so much by setting the example that doing the right thing isn't always so easy but if it were, everyone would be doing it. The bottom line is that you have to live with yourself and what you do or don't do will affect your life and the lives of others.

For 47 years he has been my father, my friend and my Rock of Gibraltar. I wish for forty seven more years together, but I fear that is too much to ask. I'll settle with whatever time we have left and hope that he truly realizes what he means to me, back when I was a little kid, now and in the years to come. I am so thankful that when they were handing out Dads, that he got to be mine.