Today would have been my Dad's 90th Birthday

One of the best things I could ever hope for someone is that they had, at one time, known my Dad. He was quite an amazing man who came from a depression era family from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’ on the north side of Flint. He was a stand out football player for Flint Northern and joined the Marines so he could get the GI bill for college. That college was Michigan State, and he played for Clarence “Biggie” Munns. Dad then went on to be a teacher, championship high school football coach, athletic director, counselor and principal. Even though he died in 1999, I still hear from people he mentored. I know they say the most influential person in a child’s life is the same-sex parent. Not for me - it was most definitely my Dad. He was always my greatest supporter. He handed me my high school diploma, and was so proud of me when I enlisted in the Navy (even though I KNOW he would have preferred it if I had joined the Marines!). Some of my favorite afternoons were spent with him, sitting beneath the branches of his favorite maple tree, drinking Manhattans, and just talking. I miss him every single day and, in a way, still turn to him for guidance.

Thanks for indulging me. I’m pretty emotional, today.