Memories of Dad

Last Sunday was Father's Day. For me it was more like a Father's Weekend. Katie and her fiance, John, came over Friday night and fixed dinner for Barb and myself. Mark and his financee, Kristen, stopped by Sunday evening and brought dinner with them. As we were wrapping up our meal I heard from our oldest son, Peter, who had spent the afternoon golfing with our oldest grandson, Andrew. As you can tell I value family time.

One of the highlights of the day was reading an article by Evan Grant in the Dallas Morning News. Evan covers the Texas Rangers for the paper. He is from Atlanta, and as luck would have it the Rangers were playing the Braves this weekend. The trip was made even more special by the fact that his dad was able to attend the game with him on Friday night. This was no normal trip to the ballpark. Evan's dad, Sheldon, is dying of cancer. He's been under the care of a hospice nurse for two months. Sheldon Grant can only see shadows and could barely hear the P.A. announcer, but that did not dull his enthusiasm. In spite of his declining health he wanted a bag of peanuts, and Evan marveled that he could still shell them himself. Evan recalled that forty years earlier his dad had taken him to his first Atlanta Braves Game. That time they stayed to the end, but this time his dad said he was tired in the sixth and asked to leave.

I have similar baseball memories with my dad. Growing up in Detroit we were Tiger fans. Old Briggs Stadium, later renamed Tiger Stadium, was the home ballpark. I remember my first game. The Tiger won 1 - 0, the only run scoring on a Frank House homerun. A rookie named Al Kaline was sick that day and did not play. The last game I watched with my dad was the All Star Game in 2005. My dad was dying of cancer and I went to Detroit to spend a last few days with him. Watching the All Star Game was a family tradition. I knew dad's days were numbered when he couldn't make it past the 3rd inning. One dad rule: You never left a ball game before it was over.

Not all of us are baseball fans, but hopefully all of us have something that links us to those we love. Maybe it's football or camping. Perhaps it's attending movies or concerts together. Whatever it is, celebrate it for all it's worth. Our time on this earth is short, and we never know which Father's Day, or Mother's Day will be our last time to say, "Thanks for the memories."