Honoring My Dad

We're never to old to honor our fathers. And as the old adage says: "The older I got, the smarter he got."

When I was a child, he was my friend, my teacher, my coach and my role model. As I grew older he tried to guide me into being the person he thought I should be. But, as a ripe old teenager I knew way more than he did. I had my ideas and they didn't fit with his.

I chose a different path than what he envisioned for me and a few years later volunteered for the Army to his utter dismay although he had volunteered and served with the O.S.S. (Office of Strategic Services a forerunner of he CIA ). I knew he knew politicians who could "pull strings" and keep me out of harm's way. In no uncertain terms I rebelled against that and eventually was slogging through the jungles and highlands of Vietnam.

For nearly 20 years we didn't speak. Neither of us reached out to the other, we were to much alike for that to happen. Then, as if the sun broke through the storm clouds we once again found each other. Although, to this day, I can't recall how.

Over time we became best friends. He was my dad and the best man at my wedding. My respect for him never stopped growing as we both grew older. Now, he has been gone for over 20 years and I miss him. I look in the mirror and see our resemblance. I review my actions and my thoughts and see his influence. And I realize how much like him I've become.

My dad may be gone but he is still my mentor and in some small way I like to think he can see me and is proud that I've become the man he molded.