Dad

He would be 85 years old now; but he died when he was 50.  He just died too soon.  Much too soon.  I was a teenager in high school doing my own thing – busy with school, friends, the boyfriend.  But none of that mattered when my mom told me that my dad had passed.  There’s never a good time to lose a father.  I would imagine.  Especially a father like him.  Seems so long ago, but I still remember him almost every day.  I loved my daddy.  I thank God I had him during those years. 

He was a great man.  Barely had a high school education; was really self-educated, self-taught.  It always impressed me how he could speak to any issue, any political issue, anything going on in the world.  He had great cultural knowledge for someone who hadn’t traveled but to one other country late in his life.  I was always amazed when he grabbed the Sunday paper, equivalent to the NY Times, and completed the crossword puzzle.  I know a lot of people with a Master’s degree that cannot get one half of it done; including me.  He always had some thought-provoking tidbit to share with us kids.  Seemed to constantly have something noteworthy that he learned about; he never ran out of trivia. 

He was a really fun dad; the life of the party.  He was, plain and simple, fun.  Unfortunately, I didn’t inherit that from him.  He loved music, dancing, and good food.  He was a great cook.  Never used a recipe in his life; just tried whatever sounded good and everything turned out just freaking delicious.  He would’ve been an awesome chef.  He was a master at story-telling and jokes.  He didn’t mind making fun of himself.  He was good at it.  And he loved us kids.  He was loving and loyal to his family.  He just loved children; loved people.  And was he handsome and a sharp dresser!!!  Having been in the military, he prided himself in dressing well and smelling good.  I remember women of all ages throwing themselves at him.  It was annoying sometimes. 

My dad was a smoker for 35 years.  He only stopped smoking when he got sick.  Only one year before his death.  The cancer took his body, his voice, and then his life.  He didn’t get to see any of his children marry and missed out on the joys of his grandchildren.  Those little critters would’ve loved him.