Favorite Sayings

My dad's favorite sayings were, "This too shall pass." and "Que Se Ra" I don't know how many times during all of my years, I went to my dad with my heart broken or my worries weighing too heavy to carry alone, and he would say, "This too shall pass." Sometimes that simple little answer made me so mad; it didn't seem like enough. But it is because it is true.

And all of us know if we've been around for a good number of years that "Que Se Ra" (what will be will be) is the absolute truth. Some people call it destiny.

Favorite Color

Whenever I asked my dad what his favorite color was, his answer was always, "Sky blue pink." As a child it would not be a sufficient answer for me. Who ever heard of sky blue pink on a color wheel? Now I think about that color when I watch an early morning sunrise when there are some fleecy white clouds and the sky is tinted "sky blue pink." And I whisper, "Hi, Dad."

Favorite Poem

Across the fields of long ago, there often comes to me
A little boy with face aglow, the lad I used to be!
He watches, listens, and walks a ways with me.
Then asks me if I've made myself the man I planned to be?

Every time I read this poem, there is a small lump in my throat. The first time I ever heard it, Dad was giving a speech at his induction into the Lincoln High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He read the poem and added, "I believe I have." Now there was a man without a million dollars, but he had a satisfied mind.

What Dad Taught Me

He taught me an appreciation for competing, teamwork, and most of all loosing with pride and winning with humility. It is not the game, it's the ideal that paves your way through the toughest game of all--Life.