Today, October 3, 2016 marks the Twentieth Anniversary of my father’s passing.

Daddy wasn’t perfect but despite many unforeseen circumstances and in spite of his being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease just before I was born, my father never complained about his progressing and incurable disability. Indeed, in many ways I believe it made him stronger.

As a child and young teenager, my father taught me about movies, baseball, carpentry and cars. He taught me how to fry bacon and eggs, how to throw a baseball & hit one out of the park. He watched closely while he instructed me in changing out electrical outlets, the proper use his power tools as well as how to miter wood & swing a hammer. By the mid-late 1960’s I knew how to do all the ‘male-dominated’ chores around the house including cutting the grass. And~ until this day, I can tell you the make…