My dad turned 75 today. Unfortunately he died at the ripe old age of 53 (June 5th 1988 .. is 53 right? Don't feel like doing the math). I remember my dad 2 ways. One way as a great father, never letting me want for anything, always made sure I had whatever I asked for and then some. The other way was a sonuvabitch. He constantly cheated on my mom, even at times trying with her close girlfriends (from what I heard from my mom). They divorced when I was in 6th grade (1981 was the year), and while my mom found "happiness" my dad never did. He did try once. There was a woman he, myself, and my cousin Georgie, met at the beach. Three totally different ages of men (I was the youngest, around 14 or 15), hoping to get a second glance. Well, my dad won (she was closest to his age at the time), and they dated for a time. Unfortunately, she dumped him. He worked his ass off, and the tumor in his brain was starting to take its toll, so he slept alot. She wanted to go out, he fell asleep too much.
My dad died (as I said above) on June 5th, 1988, exactly 16 months to the day (February 5th, 1987) he had a stroke caused by the tumor in his lung and his head. I remember that night. Long story short, I went to the hospital and found him in the E.R. and he was fighting. Could see it in his face. I remember standing there with my cousin, Kevin, around 3am or so, looking at this man who was fighting for his life. I told him exactly this: "You have 2 choices. First, you can die - right here, right now - with me standing right the fuck over you saying goodbye. OR, you can keep fighting so that when I come back later, you will be conscious and at least know who the fuck I am." My cousin was shocked. None of us would EVER talk to their dad that way. Well, that wasn't a normal night. The next day, he was awake and knew who I was. He didn't know who anyone ELSE was, but he knew me. He also couldn't talk, and I told the doctor "give him his fucking teeth and he'll be able to talk" and I was right.
I have many memories, good and bad, of my dad. And even after 21 years, I still miss the hell out of him.
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Welcome to the (at times not so much) wonderful world of ME, a big steaming pile of (take your pick of words, insert here). There are times I may (try to be) funny, there are times I'm sincere. Sometimes I end up being both without even trying. But you're here, so I hope I can keep you entertained enough to come back for more.
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