Monday, January 17, 2005

Happy Birthday, Dad!

We get only one Dad in the world. Here's mine, wearing my mortarboard the day I graduated from my Catholic University Master's program in 2002:

Dad the Grad



Dad's a hard worker. He's the kind of guy who can't kick back and just watch TV. He tends to stand in the back of the room, ready to deploy at a moment's notice, while the rest of us watch TV. I don't think Dad lets his guard down except for when he's all alone... and when he's all alone, I'm not there to see whether he's actually relaxing, so I never know what he's really up to.

This year, Dad's 63, and he's planning to retire from his long, long career at Northwest Airlines. I don't think he has any real love for the company, considering how well (cough) they treat their employees, but I admire Dad for toughing it out in one of the most stressful customer service environments you can imagine. I'd never be able to work a ticket counter; I'd strangle the first customer who gave me any lip. Somehow, Dad's been through it all without ever losing his cheer and his basic faith in the goodness of people.

It's an honor to be the son of a great man.

Happy birthday, Dad.

Love,


Kevin

(last year's Dad entry can be found here)


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