My Dad


My Dad was a good man. I would not be where I am today without his support. He felt he had the obligation to pay for my college education. So all I had to do was focus on studying, and maybe a little paryting too, but without worrying about the financing.

My Dad ? he sent me to school to learn to be on my own, but it never failed whenever I came home for a weekend, that the first words out of his mouth were: ?get that kid a haircut?.

My Dad ? he really liked cars. I don?t think he ever owned a car for more than three years. And he treated them like fine china. All manual transmissions had a practically virgin third gear. Not wanting to rev the engine too much he always would shift from second to fourth. Not wanting to wear out the turn signal switch, he would just engage the lane change signal, and hold it while making a turn. His used cars were like new cars for everyone else. Friends & relatives would anxiously await the chance to buy one of his rejects.

My Dad ? he was spoiled rotten by my dear Mother. He would?ve starved if he had had to make his own meal. I remember going to an Italian restaurant, he?d open the menu, look and then ask my mom ?What do I want?? And such a picky eater you never saw. If he even thought he caught a glimpse of a mushroom or piece of tomato in something, that was the end of that meal.

My Dad ? he wasn?t much of a talker, and I wasn?t either. Much of our conversations went like: ?Nice weather today, supposed to rain tomorrow?, 5 minutes of silence, ?Broncos looked pretty good Sunday. Elway played well?, 5 minutes of silence, ?Saw a new Toyota yesterday, nice looking?, end of conversation.

My dad was pretty helpless these last couple of years. And I want to thank my mom for the care she gave him. I know it was not easy on her. Every 10 minutes he?d be calling ?Shirley? wanting something or just wanting to know she was still in the vicinity. This prompted her to proclaim once: ?I?m going to change my name to Esmerelda?.

My Dad ? he wasn?t a great man, but he was a good man. He was, my Dad.

Posted at October 28, 2004 07:00 PM