Dad

My Dad was the most interesting man I will ever meet. He had an incredibly detailed memory and the most wonderful sense of humor. At a very young age I decided he was the one I would emulate, much to my mother's consternation. Dad was very much an introvert, but he would dazzle the crowd when he was out. He was very matter of fact and an awesome judge of character.

In fact, he could say, 'she is just a very selfish person' and there would be no criticism attached. Just fact. It was an attribute that continually amazed me. Don't misunderstand, he state positive things as well. I remember in his later years, he said to me, "you know your mother is a beautiful woman, I don't know why she doesn't think so, but she is. Always has been, she dresses sharp and takes care of herself. (nodding his head) beautiful.

I remember after a v e r y tough softball game. Tough for me anyway. I played shortstop and batted cleanup on our high school varsity team.... I played horribly; 7 errors and popped up every time. Dad was there, I don't think he said a word during the game. After the game we walked home together. I was sullen to say the least. I started whining about how horribly I played. He stopped and said, "hey.... did you try your best?" I looked at him, frustrated, but said, "yes." He looked me straight through and said, "well then?" He turned and headed for home.

Unspoken truth ...... if you do your best in life
there's no reason to let your failures bother you.

There is more to come. Dad lived for over 90 years and he never stopped teaching me. :)