Dad with a friend, somewhere on the continent of Europe in early to mid-1945. \u00a0He was a staff sergeant at the time, assigned to the 11th Armored Division of General George Patton\u2019s Third Army.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to let my father\u2019s birthday pass without mention. \u00a0He\u2019s been gone now for more than thirteen years.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
A story, not particularly significant or edifying, but one of very many:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
One summer, when I was probably just entering into my teenage years, my Dad invited me to go along with him the next day. \u00a0He had a \u201cjob walk\u201d up in the Sierra Nevada mountains. \u00a0What that meant was that a potential client \u2014 I think that, in this case, it was Southern California Edison, the electric utility \u2014 was inviting a group of contractors to inspect a site where work was to be done. \u00a0Afterwards, they would all draw up and submit competitive bids.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was a long drive, and he wanted company. \u00a0I went along. \u00a0I love the Sierras anyway, so this was really pleasant, and it was great to spend time one on one with my Dad.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
We arrived at the destination\u00a0first, even before the officials who were to take us around the job site. \u00a0None of the other contractors had yet appeared, either. \u00a0Perfect. \u00a0It was beautiful. \u00a0There were pine trees and a cascading river. \u00a0We had it to ourselves.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
After a while, though, the others still<\/em> hadn\u2019t arrived.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
We waited and waited. \u00a0We grew puzzled. \u00a0Finally, Dad opened his appointment book and discovered, to his horror, that the job walk was scheduled for the same day . . . in a week<\/em>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instantly, he turned to me and said, \u201cDan, how much is it worth to you not to tell your mother?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was a gentle, kindly, good-natured man, and a wonderful father whom I loved and still love.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u00a0miss him very much.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 I don\u2019t want to let my father\u2019s birthday pass without mention. \u00a0He\u2019s been gone now for more than thirteen years. \u00a0 A story, not particularly significant or edifying, but one of very many: \u00a0 One summer, when I was probably just entering into my teenage years, my Dad invited me to go along […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"Dad](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/06\/Screen-Shot-2016-06-30-at-9.03.27-PM.png\")
<\/a>