Daddy

I honestly don't believe that in the 1950s, on Oso Street, in the San Fernando Valley, in the State of California, or in the whole wide world for that matter, there could have been a man that loved his family more than Daddy.




Here he is with his firstborn,
Judi, born while he was away
at pilot training school in Texas
during a World War...

And then came the baby boom...and he had a son, Tim.







And then there were twins, Becky and Bobby, and Daddy was a father of four...



Always proud to show off for Bobby...



And to delight
in his daughter...













"A father of a daughter is nothing but a high-class hostage. A father turns a stony face to his sons, berates them, shakes his antlers, paws the ground, snorts, runs them off into the underbrush, but when his daughter puts her arm over his shoulder and says, "Daddy, I need to ask you something," he is a pat of butter in a hot frying pan." --Garrison Keillor

Saying good-bye to my Daddy in 1970...

How do you give honor to a man of honor...his honor speaks for itself, and especially so for this Daddy. Growing up I know we all took it for granted that he loved us, was proud of us, was teaching us, was playing with us, and sacrificed for us. But now that I am grown and enjoying my own children and their children--his great-grandchildren--I know that at 8454 Oso Avenue, there were children in that home that were blessed among children.

From time to time I find myself asking why God chose to bless my life as He has...there are no answers to that question, but I do know that it began with my Daddy. I knew I was loved, accepted, sacrificed for. I knew I would disappoint him, I knew I would be forgiven, and above all, I knew that I was taking it for granted that he would always be there for me.

Now his living has slowed down. He's in those golden years everyone talks about as though its golden. It isn't golden, it's sad. But even so, I treasure these so-called golden years. It's because I know what he gave to me, to my children, my grandchildren, and to so many, many people he lived generously for.

As I ponder my relationship with Daddy today, I realize this is a golden moment in my own life. There is still time to honor him, to love him, and to sacrifice for him now. A time to give back all the precious things he has given to me, among them, acceptance, forgiveness, and sacrifice. And the beautiful part of it all, is that if anything is unsaid or unspoken, we know it in our hearts, just as God knows what we need before we ask it, and answers before we've even uttered the prayer. So I will just whisper today, "thank you, Daddy."

Daddy and I at the Getty, 2006