1. He really, really, really really loves my mom. Which means that respect and consideration for her were always present in my upbringing--a great gift.
2. As my brother once noted, 'Our dad is perhaps
the handiest man alive.' True story. He knows how to take care of a car, make and expertly refinish furniture, turn wood on a lathe, fix all manner of stuff, and carve a turkey. He was so good at fixing machines that my grandpa worried, just a little, that he wouldn't feel motivated to go to college, although that fear turned out to be groundless, since my dad has a Ph.D. in physics.
3. He totally crushes the family history game, having written a couple of family histories as well as his own personal history.
4. Once, my dad helped my son build a doll house for which he had drawn up plans--he wanted to give the doll house to his sisters (my daughters). 'Let's do it,' my dad said, and they did.
5. My dad used to help kids in his neighborhood with their science and math homework.
6. Speaking of which, my dad used to help me with my math homework. He and my mom are so committed to educating their children and grandchildren that they have helped all the grandkids with funds to subsidize some of their educational costs.
7. Once, when I was seized with an urge to make Cornell-style shadowboxes, my dad helped me construct them.
8. He was such an attentive and devoted son of my grandmother and grandfather in their later years.
9. He is always game to tell a joke, even a dubious one--he is willing to try to make it fly.
10. He played the guitar when we were kids--between him and my mother and our reel to reel tape deck, we always had music in our home.
Happy Father's Day, Dad--you really could not be better. I love you.
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