MY HERO MY DAD

MY DAD AND MOM TRIED FOR FIVE YEARS, AFTER THEY WERE MARRIED, TO CONCEIVE A BABY. MY BROTHER WAS CONCEIVED; HOWEVER, HE WAS STILLBORN. THEN I CAME INTO THE PICTURE FOURTEEN MONTHS LATER. BOY, DID I EVER COME INTO THE PICTURE. I WAS A BLUE BABY, AND FOR TWELVE DAYS I FOUGHT LIKE HELL TO LIVE. DAD AND MOM PRAYED I WOULD LIVE.

MY DAD ALWAYS WAS THERE FOR ME FROM DAY ONE. HE HELD ME SO CLOSE IN HIS ARMS AND HIS HEART. MOM TOOK REALLY GOOD CARE OF ME ALSO. WHEN THE DOCTOR TOLD MY PARENTS I NEEDED TO LIVE IN A WARMER CLIMATE OR MY LIFE EXPECTENCY WOULD ONLY BE TWO YEARS, THEY DIDN'T HESITATE ONE BIT. THEY PACKED THE CAR UP, AND WE MOVED FROM CHICAGO ILLINOIS TO SUNNY SANTA MONICA CALIFORNIA.

DAD WAS STATIONED AT FORT ORD OUT IN CALIFORNIA WHEN HE WAS IN THE ARMY, BEFORE HE WENT OFF TO FIGHT IN WORLD WAR TWO IN EUROPE. HE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE STATE.

DAD WAS MY HERO FOR MANY REASONS. WHEN HE WAS A MILITARY MAN, HE WAS A CRYPOLOGIST, AND HE ALSO WAS A GERMAN INTERPRETOR. HE WAS SUCCESSFULLY ABLE TO GET TEN MEN TO SURRENDER WHILE HE WAS IN THE ARMY IN GERMANY.

HE WAS A SARGANT UNDER THE COMMAND OF FIRST LIEUTENANT ROY"BUCK" ROGERS. MY DAD WAS A HIGHLY DECORATED SERVICEMAN. HE WAS AWARDED MANY MEDALS FOR HIS BRAVERY IN THE FOUR YEARS HE SERVED IN THE MILITARY.

WHEN MY FAMILY MOVED TO CALIFORNIA, DAD WORKED AS A CARPENTER BY TRADE. BUT WITHOUT OUR KNOWLEDGE FOR FIFTY YEARS, HE WORKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

HE ALSO WAS A MILWRIGHT WORKER AT GENERAL MOTORS IN VAN NUYS, CALIFORNIA AND A SUPERVISOR IN MAINTENANCE THERE THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS HE WORKED FOR THE COMPANY. DAD WORKED HARD. PUTTING IN SIXTEEN HOUR A DAY SHIFTS, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. HE HAD TWO DAUGHTERS TO RAISE. MY SISTER WAS BORN IN 1956.

MY MOM BECAME PREGNANT WITH THEIR FOURTH CHILD WHEN I WAS SIX YEARS OLD. UNFORTUNATELY, MOM HAD THREE TUMORS GROWING INSIDE AND, ON HER UTERUS, WHEN SHE WAS CARRYING THE BABY. THE DOCTOR COULDN'T GUARANTEE THE PREGNANCY WOULD GO FULL TERM, OR THAT MOM WOULD LIVE.

MY PARENTS MADE THE DECISION TO TERMINATE THE PREGNANCY AT FOUR MONTHS. A SALINE SHOT WAS ADMINISTERED, AND MOM MISCARRIED A LITTLE BOY. HIS NAME WAS WESLEY. MY PARENTS, AS WELL AS MYSELF, WERE NEVER QUITE THE SAME AFTER THE LOSS OF WESLEY. YEARS OF PAIN, SUFFERING DEPRESSION AND AXNIETY, AND SEVERAL ADDICTIONS FOLLOWED.

DAD WORKED FOR TWENTY-NINE YEARS FOR GENERAL MOTORS AND HAD A GOOD RETIREMENT MOST OF THE YEARS. HE TRAVELED WITH MOM AND THE FAMILY, GOLFED, WAS VERY ACTIVE WITH THE VETERAN'S OF FOREIGN WARS, AND DOTED OVER HIS THREE GRANDSONS, AS IF THEY WERE LIKE THE SONS THAT HE LOST.

AT THE END OF MY DAD'S LIFE, HE SUFFERED A MASSIVE STROKE, AND MANY MINI STROKES. HE ALSO FELL AND BROKE HIS PELVIS, AND WAS STRIKEN WITH NEUROPATHY REALLY BAD. HE HAD TO USE A WHEELCHAIR FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS.

BUT THAT DIDN'T STOP HIM. HE ANSWERED ALL OF THE LINES ON WHEEL OF FORTUNE, AND ALL OF THE QUESTIONS ON JEOPARDY EVERY DAY. EVEN TO HIS LAST DAY OF LIFE

WE HAD GREAT LAUGHS WITH DAD. HE WAS A NATURAL WIT. HE COULD CRACK A JOKE IN A SECOND. HE AND MY SON WERE LIKE LAUREL AND HARDY.

THE YEARS HAVE PASSED, AND DAD HAS GONE TO THE GREAT HEREAFTER NOW. BUT NOT A DAY GOES BY THAT I THINK OF MY DAD AND WHAT A WONDERFUL HERO, AND MAN HE WAS.

I MISS AND LOVE YOU DAD. FOREVER!