I thought I'd take the time to actually write out a few words about my dad. I don't know if I'll ever show him this page, after all he's not very big on computers. Still, when and if I ever do show it to him, I really hope that he'll get the sense of pride I have for him.

This man was a very hard working guy. During the majority of my years growing up, he held down two full time jobs. One job was a carrier for the US Postal Service, and the other was as a police officer for the town where we lived. As you might imagine, that second job made it impossible for me to get away with any kind of "mischief" because everyone knew my dad. He was assigned as the Juvenile Officer on the force, along with the regular part of being a patrol officer.

It is not easy being a police officer, or the family of a police officer. There is always the worry that something could happen and the first we'd know would be a phone call. I have the highest respect for those who choose to become officers of the law, along with a great deal of loathing for those who abuse their positions.

This will give you an idea of a typical workday for my father. Out of the house at 5AM to get to his carrier job, home around 3PM for an hour and then out the door at 4PM for the police station, finally back home a bit after midnight. As the youngest of four children (I have two older sisters and a older brother), it amazed me the amount of time he still had to spend with us as a family and on a individual basis.

He did that routine for many years, he didn't resign from the police force until after I was in the US Air Force, and then only because of some really rotten internal politics at the station. Basically, after many years as a Sergeant, he was passed over for promotion to Lieutenant for a guy who'd been on the force for 6 months....and the same guy had a write-up for marijuana use. Seems that the new guy was on great buddy terms with the mayor and some board members. So after 18 years, he parted company with law enforcement.

As for his job with the post office? Mom also worked for the post office, but in a different town than Dad, and her position was as a window clerk. Dad had to deal with the elements year around. If you're not familiar with the Chicago area, let's say that Mother Nature gets a bit schizoid here. We have summer days that have gone over 100F, and during the winters the windchill factor has reached -70F, not to mention the occasional blizzard.

In 1992, the postal service offered a early retirement package for their workers that were within a certain range of 30 years of service, and it included 6 months worth of pay.They would still get their retirement pensions, so Dad and Mom (ages 59 and 56, respectively) took the deal. The next thing they set out to do was to build the retirement house that mom had saved the plans for...for over 30 years!

Mom's side of the family has a large amount of land in Mississippi, with the deal that as long as you can show blood ties to the family, you can live on the land. The problem is that if you choose to build a house, you'll have to finance it yourself because no bank is going to issue a mortgage if they can't take the land in case of foreclosure. well, they had the money for the materials, and with the help of some relatives in the area they built a very nice home.

Their house is over 3,000 square feet, single level, with 4 bedrooms and 3 full bathrooms. Of course the master bedroom has the best bathroom for it's own use. The immediate sense you get when you walk in is one of comfort and relaxation. The den has a fireplace, and along one wall are service pictures of all the family members that have served in the US military, regardless of how distant the family connection.

This house has also been the refuge for family members during times of crisis. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the family from the New Orleans and surrounding areas stayed with my folks until the waters subsided. The only thing the hurricane did to my folks place was to knock out the power, and I think they said they lost some shingles.

The parents still keep themselves busy with odd things. A side business that they've started for the summer months is selling watermelons. There is a county about 60 miles from them that is known to have the best watermelons around. So the folks take their truck over, load up on 40 or more, and then bring them back to sell to the people in their area. They show about $4 on each melon sold. It's not great riches, but keep in mind that it is a 76 year old man loading all of those 30 pound melons into a truck!

I want to go back to something I said earlier, basically the ungodly amount of hours that Dad worked each week. The night that I graduated from 8th grade, he was scheduled to work at the station. I really wanted him to be there when I gave the Valedictorian (not a big deal, really. My sisters and brother all were Valedictorian or Salutatorian for 8th grade graduation) speech, but I understood that the work was what kept us fed, housed and clothed. Mom was on the school board (yes, education was a big deal for my parents), and was on stage as well. The time came for me to speak, and as I got to the podium I looked over the audience. At the back of the room by the doors was my father (had his radio hand piece clipped to his collar).

That image has stuck with me through out the years. It reminds me of when parents are helping their child to walk. The mother will be behind the child, ready to help if support is needed, and the father will be in front of the child urging them forward.

Dad, Thank You!