The Old Man and Me

Dec 21, 2008 10:26

When my brother and I were much younger we’d tease Dad that he was twenty years older than he actually was. My parents were pretty young when I was born, and were probably the youngest of all my friends’ parents when I was growing up, so it was funny to introduce him as in his fifties when he obviously wasn’t. He took pretty good-naturedly, I think, and even participated on a few occasions, failing to deny the older age to a couple of friends.

Dad turns 60 today.

He’s been there for my brother and me when we needed him, and even did all the classic dad things: he taught us how to fish, how to hunt, how to measure twice and cut only once. We played catch, Dad and I, and he took us to concerts, movies (Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman, Pink Floyd’s The Wall) and shared what was best about his childhood with us. He bought the first video game systems that were commercially available, with a great big white Pong system being the very first one in the house. It had three controllers on each side, one forward and back, one up and down and the third knob allowed you to put English on your shot, which could seriously mess with your head if the other guy was good at it. It was challenging and cool.

These are just some of the things that make my Dad one of the coolest people I know. I mentioned back on Father’s Day a few of the other things, but I need to include that he taught me how to treat a woman, how to treat your customers, and his example has served me well in my own career. He’s a student, my Dad, and he never stops learning. My Dad is my hero, he always has been, and I always consider what he tells me on any subject.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

family

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