Thank you for this beautiful share, Anthony. It's such a blessing to have a good dad. Yours sounds amazing. I hope he will have many more years with you. I love the part about him driving his VW Beetle to the country club. :) That was one of my first cars. It cost $100.00 and had a hole in the floor.
My dear dad was humble and kind. He worked at a Chevy dealership in Detroit. My first summer job was there. He led a simple life but managed to provide for his four children and wife. He couldn't read music, but played like a concert pianist. He always had a camera in his hand, and after he died, my mom told me he'd worked for a photographer once. I was studying photography at the time, and so wished I'd known that when he was alive.
I see your comment below that you wept as you wrote this beautiful piece. I don't think I've cried harder in my 71 years than on the day of my father's funeral. Big hugs to you and your dad. XO
"Your dad is your hero when you are a boy, then he can become seen as an adversary at some point. With time and wisdom, you eventually see him as what he is. A man."
This is a beautiful tribute, and I love the photos, especially the one of your dad and son. I wept as I read this. I lost my mother to Alzheimer's almost 10 years ago. It was agony watching her in the last months, after an initially slow fade of her intellectual abilities and spirit, while I was in denial of what was happening. My dad also had a terrible bedridden end of life 9 years earlier. I knew he had been diagnosed with manic depression (as it was called then) early in his adulthood, but to hear him assess his life near the end of it as "I battled mental illness my whole life" was heartbreaking. Despite his struggles, he was always my Daddy. My mother wouldn't speak much the last few months, but she often cried loudly and begged God for forgiveness. I asked her what she wanted God to forgive her for, and she answered "That's my business." Indeed. But there are so, so many things I wish I would have asked my parents about while they were still alive. I know some details of their lives and upbringing, but there is so much more I would like to know. They were flawed and troubled people, and the marriage wasn't bliss, but they were good people, and there were good times, too.
Beautiful tribute to your father! Made me teary eyed and wistful for my dear departed dad who died at 68 from cancer in 1994. He could be a difficult authoritarian but he was also so smart and witty and wise and gave me wisdom that stood me in good stead.
NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING ON TV, WHEN POLITICIANS OPEN THEIR MOUTHS THEY ARE LYING AND QUESTION EVERYTHING! I miss my dad and I bless you and your relationship with your parent.
Thank you for this beautiful share, Anthony. It's such a blessing to have a good dad. Yours sounds amazing. I hope he will have many more years with you. I love the part about him driving his VW Beetle to the country club. :) That was one of my first cars. It cost $100.00 and had a hole in the floor.
My dear dad was humble and kind. He worked at a Chevy dealership in Detroit. My first summer job was there. He led a simple life but managed to provide for his four children and wife. He couldn't read music, but played like a concert pianist. He always had a camera in his hand, and after he died, my mom told me he'd worked for a photographer once. I was studying photography at the time, and so wished I'd known that when he was alive.
I see your comment below that you wept as you wrote this beautiful piece. I don't think I've cried harder in my 71 years than on the day of my father's funeral. Big hugs to you and your dad. XO
"Your dad is your hero when you are a boy, then he can become seen as an adversary at some point. With time and wisdom, you eventually see him as what he is. A man."
This is a beautiful tribute, and I love the photos, especially the one of your dad and son. I wept as I read this. I lost my mother to Alzheimer's almost 10 years ago. It was agony watching her in the last months, after an initially slow fade of her intellectual abilities and spirit, while I was in denial of what was happening. My dad also had a terrible bedridden end of life 9 years earlier. I knew he had been diagnosed with manic depression (as it was called then) early in his adulthood, but to hear him assess his life near the end of it as "I battled mental illness my whole life" was heartbreaking. Despite his struggles, he was always my Daddy. My mother wouldn't speak much the last few months, but she often cried loudly and begged God for forgiveness. I asked her what she wanted God to forgive her for, and she answered "That's my business." Indeed. But there are so, so many things I wish I would have asked my parents about while they were still alive. I know some details of their lives and upbringing, but there is so much more I would like to know. They were flawed and troubled people, and the marriage wasn't bliss, but they were good people, and there were good times, too.
This is a lovely homage to your dad.
Thank you. I wept as i wrote.
My own father turns 82 this year and it's an important and humbling exercise to bear witness.
Beautiful tribute to your father! Made me teary eyed and wistful for my dear departed dad who died at 68 from cancer in 1994. He could be a difficult authoritarian but he was also so smart and witty and wise and gave me wisdom that stood me in good stead.
NEVER BELIEVE ANYTHING ON TV, WHEN POLITICIANS OPEN THEIR MOUTHS THEY ARE LYING AND QUESTION EVERYTHING! I miss my dad and I bless you and your relationship with your parent.