Happy Father's Day

I lost my own father back in 1991. He died at an early age (50) and lived a tough life. Unfortunately, he made his life much tougher with an addiction to prescription painkillers. I recall the day he died like it was yesterday. The phone rang at 5:00 in the morning and the first words out of my mouth were, "when did it happen?" No "hello," no "who is this?"

By the above description, my father wouldn't seem to be the role model for fatherhood or parenting. However, he was in many ways. He and my mother divorced when I was in the 6th grade. I remember crying at my parents' announcement to us and wondering where I was going to live. My father made it very clear we were to live with him and there was nothing to worry about. When I was sick (and as a child I suffered badly from asthma) my father was the person sitting on the edge of my bed rubbing my chest until I fell asleep.

He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. I loved to make people laugh and could make any tense situation loose, almost hilarious, with something as simple as a facial expression. He was a darn good baseball and softball player, too. I followed in his footsteps to become a catcher and have him to thank for my bad knees and back, but wouldn't have it any other way. To a fault, he would give someone the shirt off his back if it meant helping them out.

All in all, he was a great guy and I miss him a lot.

Happy Father's Day, Pop.