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Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Reminiscences of My Dad

Today is the 62nd birthday of my Dad. This year will be my 32nd birthday. My little boy J.T. is 2 years old right now, and there are almost the same 30 years separating our two lives as has separated my Dad and my life. I am not sure the significance of this trivia, other than to say that there is a peculiar bond between a father and his son. Often times I have missed the opportunity to tell him how much he has meant to me through the years.

Today, I would like to devote just a couple of moments to his birthday. I do recall one story when we went to Disney World one year. My Dad and I were in line to ride Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom and as we got closer I began to be afraid, so afraid that as we got up there I asked if we would not ride it. Dad was cool about the whole thing and made me feel okay in my feeling afraid. Furthermore, he didn’t tell Mama and Sherri (my sister) that the reason for our not wanting to ride was my fear. The funny thing is I look back on that day and regret not riding Space Mountain, because now I love roller coasters (I had never ridden one at that time). However, the main thing I think about is how my hero, my Dad, came to my rescue by saving me from humiliation.

Another thing I remember is that growing up my Dad used to ask me to ride with him in the car all the time (in fact, if we are in town, he still does). He could be riding thirty feet, but most of the time I would try to go with him. It was during those times that he would talk and teach me about life, culture, and God (hey, that sounds a lot like the subtitle of this blog). It is true that my Dad and I don’t agree on everything, but the fact is that he taught me to think for myself about things. I will always appreciate that about him. Dad was always opinionated (and still is), but his opinions predominately came out of a heart of good intentions and concern for his family and others. I would hope that mine are from a similar origin, also.

In closing, I hope that I will be able to leave to my son and daughters just a fraction of the legacy that my Dad has left to me. I love him and will always remember his words of wisdom and his life of love. Thanks Dad, and may you have many more happy birthday’s.

1 comments:

Anonymous said...

It has taken me almost 40 years of my life to realize a couple of things. First, that my dad loves me. Second, that he know a lot more than me. The sad thing is that now that I've come to realize this, it is near the end of his life on this earth. I wished I was must wiser when I was younger, as do most people. If I had listed to him more, I would be much better off in life. Not to say I would do everything he says. No not at all.
You know that I just shared with daddy a few days ago about God possibilly calling me, or giving me a desire, to serve Him in full time ministry. Daddy was very upbeat about it and encouraging. He thought it was a great thing. Before telling him, I wondered if he might try to talk me out of it due to my "great locksmith business". One question I did ask him, was in looking back over his 62 years of life, what was most important to him? He said, " God, mama, his children, grandchildren, and serving God." I was greatly encouraged with his answer. You noticed he didn't mention jobs he had done, how many sales he had made, money, house or cars. He mentioned only what was eternal. Thanks for your thoghts.