Birthday

On another day I'd show these osprey pictures I took today, but not as a blip today.

Today is the 93rd birthday of my dad, born July 16, 1920 in Oklahoma. I chose this hammer to symbolize and represent him on his day. He left the physical realm of this earth four years ago, but I find him still hanging around in various places. I don't know if you can see it well, but there is a date stamped on this hammer's handle: 2-9-42. He was rejected for the draft for WWII with an ear problem, so he worked building ships in Long Beach during the war. This hammer would have been part of his arsenal, and it rests here on a handmade tool chest of his creation that I blipped here last August 12.

My dad was far from a perfect man, but his was the textbook American Dream. He believed anything was possible through hard work, and I like to think he passed along that work ethic to me and also to my son, and his grandson, Josh. He helped to build the West, and he provided me many opportunities growing up. He hand built our home that we moved into, coincidentally, on the day I was born, and he stayed in that place until the day he died. He taught me many lessons, some of them I'm still learning. I miss his Sunday morning phone calls, playing golf with him, and sitting in that warm back yard in the summer celebrating another birthday.

Happy birthday, Dad.