Portrait of my father as a man

My father didn’t build structures, my father did not cure cancer nor did he solve any of life’s big mysteries…his legacy is not one of tangibilities but rather one of intangibilities, those little quality of life things that make life worth it.

He was everyone’s best friend, once you met him you never forgot him – just like my sister S.
He was gentle and full of love – something he shared with my sister Z.
Even casually dressed his sense of taste and style showed the man at his best…that’s my brother B.
Me…I’m the dreamer my father was, as opinionated and stubborn and even though we were not a part of each other’s everyday lives; I loved my father for making me the man I am.

They say to err is human; If so, Dad was more human than most but he took lessons from his mistakes. It is through his example that I learnt what it was to be a man; to hold yourself accountable for your actions, that it was ok to cry; that through food come fellowship and that success is not necessarily material achievement but happiness achieved through effort.

My dad and I didn’t speak emotionally a lot so I would like to take this opportunity to say to him as I did when last I saw him…I love you Daddy…and to say on behalf of my father to his wife, life partner and co conspirator, my stepmother J.

How can you feel alone at night?
Even though I’m not by your side
Can’t you hear me laugh in the wind?
Does it ease your mind?

If you can’t wait to see me again
Just know I’ll always be your friend
Like an angel’s heart…I’ll blend with the wind