Let Me Tell You About My Dad
In an earlier blog post, I said I wouldn’t be where I am without my Mom. Well, I wouldn’t be ABLE to do what I am doing, had it not been for my Dad.
He gets a ton of the credit.
So, a great co-worker of mine once said “Journalism Jobs should ALL require a college degree in history.”
Thanks to my dad – I had a near collegiate level education in history by the time I was 17. And, largely thanks to Dad, I’ve had my nose in it ever since.
I’ll study dang near anything in world history.
Ancient Egypt, the Greeks and Persians, Macedonians, Hellenic Europe & North Africa, Republican and Imperial Rome, Hannibal and Ancient Carthage, Dark Ages, The Vikings, The Crusades, The 100 Years War, The Russian Czars, North Germany’s Teutonic Wars, The Mongols, Ancient China, Feudal Japan, Renaissance Italy, Late 15th Century Turks, The 30 Years War, Frederick “The Great” of Prussia, Colonial Britain, Early U.S.A., the Napoleonic Period, The Victorian Age, The American Civil War (my personal favorite) – all the way up to WW1, The Depression, WW2, and Vietnam.
Dad would tell you I came into it on my own, and that’s true to an extent, but I would never have developed such an appetite for history without him. Never.
Our family home was always jam packed with books about all sorts of different eras and moments in history. Dad read all of it – and then he could regurgitate ALL of it and make it sound as incredible as it actually was. Dad incorporated history into hobbies that we shared. I was instantly hooked. I’ve been privately reading and studying human history (much of it being geopolitical and military history) for about 25 of my 36 years because of him.
There’s more;
Other than Mom and my sister, my dad is literally the smartest, most talented, wise, informed, and knowledgeable human I’ve ever encountered, let alone been close to.
Hand to Heart – if my dad had traveled a different road in life, he would have been a damn successful artist. That’s a fact. He can also play music. He can write music. He can design things – build things – fix things…
Growing up, dad had an answer for almost EVERYTHING….and believe me, I tested him.
Dad also helped teach me how to love people. He taught me that – in a pinch – humor, laughter, modesty, and empathy can make a friend in 2 seconds.
He never taught me to fight. I may have missed out there, but he told me once that he had been a bully earlier in his life and I suppose he hated the idea of his son ever becoming that way. I was always taller and bigger than everyone else my age.
Gotta be careful with that…
My dad also has a heart a mile wide and he’ll share the hell out of it if he decides to. If you were to sit and chat with my dad, it would take maybe an hour for you to genuinely love the guy.
He can be testy too, but only if you’ve hurt him, when you’re making him wait too long, or….when the Chiefs lose (haha)
Again, there is a word greater than “love” to describe how I feel about my father, but – again – I’ll stick with that for now.
I love you dad 😊 Happy Father’s Day.
