Dad’s Day

So here it is Father’s Day.  And here’s my dad, a picture taken on a fishing trip before I was born.

What to say about the man who nurtured me, supported me, worked hard to keep food on the table, kept me out of trouble, and helped to knock down Hitler?

My dad wasn’t a hard guy to know, and he wasn’t a hard father to have.  He wasn’t a tyrant or a dictator, and he was willing to let me be myself even if neither of us had a clue what that was, or would be.  He was gentle, he was caring, and he stood behind me 110%.

His whole life was a lesson in what Kurt Vonnegut said best:

“There’s only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.”