Another blog. Really???

So, after my last post, I decided to create another blog for the sole purpose of writing entries that would eventually make it into my book.  Guess what?  I posted a test note and the following post, then nothing.  Therefore, I'm going to copy the one post that meant anything and delete that blog.  One day, I'll get it write right!

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Nine years

I decided about a week ago that I wanted to start a blog specifically for public journaling, hoping to hone my writing skills with the intention of making said blog into a novel. I then created this page, but didn’t write anything on it. I couldn’t decide how to get the proverbial ball rolling, until yesterday. I waited until today, however, for this reason: 

Today is the ninth anniversary of my dad’s death. He’s never far from my mind, but it seems that this anniversary is hitting me harder than others. It could be that I recently discovered a couple of small envelopes filled with pictures, ranging from me as a baby through my graduation and beyond. He’s in very few photos, but I cherish them immensely. 

As an adult, I’m learning more and more about my dad. It makes me both happy and sad. I’m happy that people feel like they can talk freely about him, but some of the things I’m learning make me really sad. I’ve been told that he stayed married to my mother for our (there are three of us) benefit. I’ve also heard that he came back from Vietnam a changed man, but then again, who didn’t. During his tour, his helicopter was shot down. My dad always seemed kind of sad, kind of depressed and he never expressed his emotions. He drowned his sorrows at the bottom of a beer, smoked like a freight train and never followed any doctor’s advice. Was he stubborn or looking for a way out? I’ll never know. 

I choose to remember his contagious laughter, his goofy sense of humor and the many stories I hear from family and friends touting him a wonderful man that is fondly remembered and sorely missed.