My dad disliked inaction. He was fond of saying, “Get up and do something even if it’s wrong!”
It’s a core discipline I’ve carried with me throughout my life. He was a U.S. Air Force veteran, a graduate of the University of the Florida with a EE degree and a member of the team who put the first man on the moon. He worked at IBM, wore white, pressed short sleeve button downs with a cotton t-shirt underneathe to the office every day complete with a pocket protector. When I was in high school, we would sit at the dining room table and he would attempt to help me with my math, an impossible task that led to arguments and tears. He just couldn’t teach on my level and I couldn’t comprehend on his.
He was a Catholic that didn’t believe in confession; a male chauvinist that was convinced his daughters could do anything and a man with a grand heart who raised his children in the late sixties completely sheltered from racism. It wasn’t until I was in my teens that I heard of race issues in the south. Never an unkind word was spoken in my home about people of other races.
For all those things and more, I remember my father today and always on this Father’s Day. He died unexpectedly in 1998. In tribute to the millions of dads everywhere, I’m posting the beautiful lyrics to Stevie Nicks’ Landslide, which she once sung to her dad at a concert:
“Landslide”
I took my love and took it down
I climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Till the landslide brought me down
Oh, mirror in the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m getting older too
Well, I’ve been afraid of changing
‘Cause I’ve built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I’m getting older too
Oh, I’m getting older too
I take my love, take it down
I climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Will the landslide bring you down
And if you see my reflection in the snow-covered hills
Will the landslide bring you down, oh, oh
The landslide bring you down