My Dad

Ten years ago this Halloween my brother, my sister, and I all got the call every kid dreads . . . our dad had passed away. Unexpectedly.

Don's mom had just passed 8 days earlier and we had just gotten back to work, when Dad died. It seems like yesterday.

Dad was the one who made sure we had varied interests. I played golf at age 8 - not many of my friends did. We went bowling, he taught us to fly fish, he took us on pack trips, he taught us to love the ocean. He was the original Disneyland Dad.

He also had a really good ear for music. He loved to play the guitar and sang some of the craziest songs - The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, for example. But one song he sang was my favorite . . . Eidelweiss, from The Sound of Music. After he died, I couldn't hear the song without tearing up . . . which is why last Thursday when Oprah had the original Sound of Music cast on her show and they showed a clip of Julie Andrews singing Eidelweiss with the real Maria Von Trapp I bawled like a baby. Glad no one called me at that time.

I can't believe it has been ten years. I miss Dad every day. But I am grateful that he gave us a love of the outdoors, of music, of life. Thanks, Dad.