This is my dad at seventeen. He was a high school honor graduate and holder of class medals in English and debate. The year was 1925. He was a mill town boy with high ambitions beyond the mountains of western Maryland but he had the security of a good-paying full-time job waiting for him after graduation in the midst of the Roaring Twenties. That job won out and he never pursued the college degree he wanted. Nevertheless he was successful, building on his steady employment, strong faith, a solid marriage, and a remarkable work ethic.
When I look at this picture I am reminded that he only had four "good" years before the Great Depression and World War II brought him and the country he loved into sixteen years of hard times. What I don't see are his weakened legs and slight limp caused by polio when he was a young boy. Through it all he survived as a member of the "Greatest Generation" and saw his nation prosper.
One hundred and thirteen years have passed since the birth of my father on this day in 1907. That's a long time and one indication of why my value programming is different from that of most people my age. In short, I was raised by parents from the Roaring Twenties and the Jazz Age while the majority of my classmates, friends, and colleagues had parents come of age in the 1930's and early '40's. The often vast difference in attitudes, opinions and beliefs borne out of such a circumstance bring both opportunity and challenge in the real world for those born somewhat "out of synch" with their peers.
My children never knew my dad - he's been gone almost forty years - but I think they know him well. I've done my best to teach them who he was and honor him by carrying on his many traditions. How fortunate I was to have him as a beacon in my life. He was a great and careful teacher and, though we had our differences, a constant and trusted friend. Most of all he was my loving dad. I thank him every day and will love him forever.
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