David Vogt with dad Bill, his model in life.
I had just turned 6.
I was building a barn in rural Illinois.
I was working for Dad.
I was paid 50 cents an hour.
Dad was a factory worker. He made screws for telephones.
Back then, he needed to moonlight construction to support our family. He eventually rose into management, a high paying job. That week, he was pouring a concrete floor for a barn. It was backbreaking labor. READ MORE
A long walk without shoes. A craggy dirt road.
An hour to school. An hour back home.
My name is Shawn Kumar. This is about Dad.
Nand & Shawn Kumar…proud dad with proud son.
What kids now expect, he would never have dreamed. My father grew up in India. He was thankful just to have shoes. As hard as it was, Dad dreamed of the best, only good things. He did it back then. He does it today.
My father was determined to create an opportunity-filled life for the family he one day would have.
1936 Ford Coupe
My father, Charles Crist, was a fireman for the Pennsylvania Railroad. As a railroad employee, he was entitled to a “free pass” to anywhere on the ‘System.’ Over New Years, Mom and Dad decided to take the train to Baltimore to visit my older sister.
I had turned 16 the August before, and was a proud licensed driver. My family’s only form of transportation was a royal blue 1936 Ford Coupe with a rumble seat. Just before he left, my Dad instructed,
“If it snows, leave the car in the garage.”
Off they went. I had the car to myself. My buddies and I were going to have a blast.
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Has it happened to you?
A moving blur darts out in front of the car.
A sickening thud…your heart jumps to your throat. Your stomach tightens, sours and churns.
Val’s dad, Sandor, when he was growing up.
It happened to Sandor. He was my dad.
He screeched to a halt and jumped out of the car. He hoped he was wrong, but learned he was right. A possum lie stretched on the side of the road. My father hated to see a creature of nature die this way. He thought, “Was it dead or could it be stunned?”
Dad knew these cagey critters are known to feign death in times of great stress. It’s how they outfox their prey. He lifted the possum into a cardboard box he kept in the trunk. He looked at it closely and guessed it was just stunned. READ MORE
1974, “Piloting the boat with a cigar in my mouth. From the beginning, I wanted to be just like Dad.”
We climbed into our pick-up and raced to their farm. I was 10, excited, nervous and scared.
Dad was an intense guy—about people, work, whatever was part of his immediate sphere. He dove in when needed. He gave it all that he had.
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“What we ate for dinner had often roamed the forest that day. Neighbors were miles apart,” Justin explained. As a boy, Justin longed to hunt with his dad. He pleaded, but was told,
“Justin, you’re too young.”
Justin Hyde (right) and dad, Kevin Hyde (3rd from right) with family and friends
The day finally came. Justin was 6. Justin’s dad carried his gun. The sling was too big for Justin’s tiny shoulder. They started the trek up the mountain. Justin remembered, “It seemed like we walked forever.” Father and son moved quietly through the brush, “We didn’t want to frighten the prey.” Shadows grew long. Darkness began to fall. READ MORE
In 1974, I had just graduated from law school. I was determined to take on the world and forge my own way.
By that time, Chubby, my dad had decades of business experience. He had built successful real estate, lending and land development firms. Dad became my mentor, the best a son could have. But I had paid a price. When I was young, Dad left home early and worked late. I sometimes went days without seeing him.
Diane Prince Johnson and her dad Alan Prince