HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD

 

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of the greatest man I have ever known, my dad.  

He was, and is my hero.

 

His early years were spent as the youngest of two sons of a Lutheran School teacher and his wife, doing whatever a child did in the 1920s and '30s, attending school, Church, and generally learning about life during the Great Depression.

When his Nation called, he enlisted in the Army and served with the 87th Infantry in Europe.  His young adulthood was spent in places like France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Czechoslovakia, driving distant relatives back into Germany.

 

Shortly after he returned, He married Phyllis Blake, and then the real adventure began.

 

They raised 6 children, and, as you might expect, the chaos got intense from time to time.  But whatever the argument, there was always an undercurrent of love for all of us.  I like to think we were the reason he developed his wonderful sense of humor.

 

He was a wonderful man.  He taught me a lot of things that have stayed with me for a lot of years:

--To love unconditionally.

--To learn by observation. 

--To teach by example.

--To value others more than myself.

--To be kind and gentle, but to be prepared not to be if the need arises.

--To honor my wife, and love my children and grandchildren.

--To think outside the box.

--To seize failure as an opportunity to learn and improve.

I could go on, but you get the idea.

I miss his wise counsel every day.

Happy Birthday, Dad.  Give Mom a hug for me.