My dad died when I was twenty.
No single event in my life has had as much impact, on me, as that did.
January 9, 1969, three days before his fiftieth birthday, he died of a massive heart attack on a cold, cold night in Tacoma, Washington.
I was home from college for the weekend. He and I were watching The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He said he wasn’t feeling well, got up to go to the bathroom, and dropped dead. I called 911, held him, and he died.
End of story!
Except it really isn’t the end of the story.
I was adopted at nine months. I’ve never known my biological parents. I have no idea who they are. All I know is Dale LeRoy Holland, three years removed from serving in World War 2, and Evelyn Josephine O’Dowd, recently annulled from a previous marriage, hooked up in 1948 and decided to adopt a blind kid.
It turned out pretty damned good for all of us.
Now I mention all that because people keep asking me where my work ethic comes from, and they state, in wonder, that I’m able to achieve so much (they don’t add ‘in my advanced age’). But the reason is in that grave, in Tacoma, Washington, with the grave marker that says “Dale LeRoy Holland.”
I am my father’s son, with or without the biological similarities.
I was told, as a child, that working hard is something to be proud of. I was told that limitations are for people with a very narrow view of life. I was told that the time we have on this planet is precious and shouldn’t be wasted. And I was told to find something I loved to do and then become the best I can be at it.
It’s been almost fifty years now since that cold January night, but my dad still lives on, in me, and I’m his proud son.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think the whole world is dying to hear someone say, ‘I love you.’ I think that if I can leave the legacy of love and passion in the world, then I think I’ve done my job in a world that’s getting colder and colder by the day.” Lionel Richie
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
I love you!
Take that to the bank and deposit it.
I love each and every one of you!
FINAL THOUGHT
Do you love to write?
Is writing a passion for you?
Then what are you waiting for? Write like your tail feathers are on fire.
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 