Thoughts on Dad

Happy Father's Day... 

Here's Dad in front of his house in Coral Gables when he was about 17 or so. Just a few years after this photo was taken, he had entered and then quit the University of Florida, joined the Air Force and then met and married my mother. It's always strange looking at pictures of your parents when they were young, before you ever entered their lives-in other words, seeing them as people and not parents. Dad's concerns weren't of his career at TWA, his multiple wives, or two kids, but simpler ones-living with a nutty mother, girls, keeping his car clean, bumming around Key Biscayne and graduating from high school. Hardly the sort of problems to etch the crags and lines I remember so well into that face. Happy Father's Day, mi padre!


and Happy Birthday... 

Dad's birthday was 20 June 1939. His favorite activity, bar none, was reading. This was taken a few years before he was diagnosed with cancer and shows him reading House & Garden, which indicates a paucity of available material. Not that this stopped him-he was blessed with a natural curiosity which allowed him to read nearly anything without being utterly bored. Still, his preferences ran to nautical and adventure themes-among his favorites were Treasure Island, The Bounty Trilogy, The Caine Mutiny, the Horatio Hornblower series and nearly anything by Kipling. For a macho man, he was also surprisingly sensitive-he loved poetry and musicals.

Dad passed away in February '04, and not a day goes by where I don't think about him and cherish the memories, the many wonderful memories, of our times together. When my parents divorced, I went with my dad, and this helped create a bond of uncommon strength. Dad was eccentric, and certainly had his flaws, but somehow, he understood how to be a father and yet remain a friend. In fact, he was my best friend, and he was for a long time. Happy 66th birthday, Dad-I wish you were here for me to say it to you in person. God bless and keep you.