Happy Birthday, Daddy

Happy Birthday, Daddy. My father has been gone now as long as he lived on Earth. He would have been 104 today. Gone too soon at 52. He was one of the most humble men I ever knew. He encouraged me to be a journalist and a teacher. He shared with me his wisdom. He fought the "Big C" and hung on long enough to see me start my career in education, dying at the end of my first week of teaching. Oh, Daddy, how I wish you could have been around to see what followed. You would have loved my daughters and grandchildren and especially the fact that they all lived in your home state of Tennessee. I have so many memories of special times with you (walking blocks to the ice cream parlor for chocolate malts, driving to the hospital to get my broken arm fixed, going to The Armory for a boxing match, moving in and out and in and out of the dorm at Indiana State, learning to drive a stick shift in a January blizzard, and more) and will cherish them forever. I miss you, Happy Birthday!