At church today, there were three speakers whose topic was Father's day. It was a really uplifting meeting that helped me remember my own father. My father and I didn't always see eye to eye. For many years, I was quick to find fault with him, but I have some very strongest memories of him and his teaching.
I was about ten when he told me to fix a flat tire on my mother's car. I had never changed a tire and didn't know what I needed to do. Dad pointed to the floor jack on the cement floor of the service station and then he pointed to the pointed to the star wrench that hung on the wall. I took them and did the best I knew how. Putting the jack under the back of the car, I raised the car with ease. Unknowingly, however, I had put the jack under the gas tank which was not designed to sustain the weight of the car. That caused some damage to the car that Dad had to repair. I felt his frustration in my lack of knowledge. I worked with him in his service station when I was 17-19. During those years, my feelings about him began to change. Although there were times that he expected me to know things that I had never been taught, I learned a great deal from him during those years.
When I was a young man and about to marry, Dad felt some reservations about the wisdom of my choice. I have a letter from him in which Dad told me in a loving way about his concerns then tenderly he allowed me to make my own decision.
Years later, on the day of the wedding, he slugged me on the shoulder and said, "Well, son, if you don't know now, it's too late."
He was a loving Grandfather. I remember one morning what Rob was just a little guy, he was out watching Dad burn trash in the trash barrel. Dad came in, then we had a fire in the back yard that brought the fire department. When I was ready to give Rob a spanking for causing the fire, Dad interceded and told me not that it was his fault.
Many years later, when my wife and I were going though a troubled time, I saw Dad as I will always remember him. He spent a short time with us, but taught us a lot. He shared regrets with us about the things he had done wrong as he gained his years of experience as a husband an father. He expressed his love and confidence in each us. That was the last time I ever saw him alive. I sometimes have a hard time remembering the details of Dad's face, but I will never forget that tender lesson.
