My Dad

I think that I am a good teacher. And a good mom. On most days I make way more mistakes than I should. But if I am good at either job, a big debt is owed to my mom and dad. But it's dad that I want to focus on. I just spent Saturday with him and although he's 92 he's still as sharp as he was at 52(a fact that gives me great hope). I have so many memories of my dad. I don't remember Dad yelling. He would get upset, of course. He would get frustrated. Dad never said anything negative to me about my figure, my ability, my work ethic.

A few of my memories stand out. In 1982 when I took a group to England, my dad stood on our front porch and told me he'd gotten a passport. I assumed he was going back to India or China where he had served in the war. No. He said "if you need me while you're in England, I can come and get you."

In college I was miserable. William Woods had a rule that you could not spend the night in the first term more than 4 nights in a semester. So every Sunday my dad came to Fulton to get me. And he took me back every Sunday night. My mom told me that he cried seeing me so unhappy. But he didn't let me quit. He just made it possible for me to stay.

In high school a friend of my brothers lived way out in the country. The family was poor and proud. Dad must have known something of their circumstances. This friend wanted to stay at school for the bb games. Dad figured out she was walking home in the dark more than 5 miles just so she could be a part of the school. Dad stopped her one night. She was stubborn and told dad he wasn't going to take a ride from him. He smiled and said okay but he wasn't leaving so she might as well get in the truck. From then on dad gave her a ride home. He was the only one who could have.

So if I am persistent or kind or friendly it's because I learned how to be at my dads knee. Thanks dad. I wish for every child a man like you in his or her life. You led by example. What I know and how I act I owe to you.