With Lots of Love To My Father

Just as my mom is a wonderful, witty, elegant woman, my father is also quite a character in many ways. On the outset, he looks rather dour and quiet with purpose. However, when you get beyond the surface, you find a man who is soulful, passionate, resilient and stalwart when it comes to the causes that he supports and talks about. As my mother gave me the gift of conversing about important and serious subjects, my dad bestowed upon me a sense of compassion and conscience when it comes to humanity.

Ever since I could remember, my Dad has always told me to think about the implications of my actions for good and for ill. His quiet words has created a sense of depth for watching the world at large as well as acting within it. That in turn has helped me to especially become a passionate person in terms of caring about society. He, along with my mother, have helped the homeless, organized food drives, and other types of service that pointed out that we are all connected together. He especially made the point that we must be empathetic, hard-working individuals who are responsible for our actions.

What I love best about my dad is his plain-speaking nature. In talks about politics around the dinner table, my father and I would get into these great talks from time to time about the nature of society. Sometimes when the spaghetti was being served out or the beverages were being poured, he would start out with a question (mind you, this was while the nightly news was on in the background on the kitchen table). Some of these questions were about everyday matters that he had experienced. Others were about the issues of the day. From that start, we would sit there and discuss these matters with depth and frankness which I have always enjoyed--even today when we still discuss them daily.

Even though he could be reserved, there are times that he would have a warm sense of humor that would compliment his outlook on the world. When thinking back about it, I must have developed my sense of irony from him. He especially use irony when thinking about how things turn out in the world. It would especially provide the punctuation point after a long drawn out discussion on the phone or over dinner--even when things became rather heated in the midst of passionate debate. The funny thing about it was the fact that he was just say it and then there would be silence. He would smile and the rest of us would laugh. And that would spell the end of some great family time especially when the gravity of events would weigh us down.

For my dad, the personal was political. He makes no bones about class and race when he discusses politics. Because of his honesty, he made discussing these issues all right instead of something to fear. On this account, I consider myself lucky because I've realized that in a lot of ways class and race are sensitive issues that really are hard for people to express themselves about. I was even luckier to grow up around his world view of loving everyone--regardless of race, class, sexual orientation or religion. Because of his (and my mother's) kindness and generosity within my hometown, he (and my mom) had a lot of friends from all types of backgrounds.

And here too, I am fortunate because I was able to hear the voices and experiences of so many different people at an early age to the present. I owe him a debt of gratitude for exposing me to different cultures in the name of diversity. This was especially punctuated in developing early a sense of traveling and meeting all sorts of people.

One of the things that impacted me the most when realizing the gifts that my father gave me in order to become a more, well-rounded individual is strength and dignity especially when things are at their worst. He would always tell me, "Well, Ceci, you've hit the bottom. Now, all you have to do is go up." It was that saying, along with, "Strike while the iron is hot," that got me through a lot of challenges in my life. I still think about them today as I face new adventures in real life as well as on-line. Most of all, the ability to face things with the frame of mind filled with purpose and resolve has really given me the knowledge in the midst of the struggle, you know more about yourself than you possibly ever could.

That is why he too has played a part in my writing and sense of political discussion. His influences helped me develop a deeper part of myself especially when researching and looking into issues that affect us all. His wisdom and kindness has made an impact especially on those writings--whether by essay or by post. And I love him for it because everyday, he still wakes up with a view that there is still more of the world left to discover. And that too, has instilled me a sense of curiosity and love of learning. He never gets tired of delving into things and always encourages us to do the same.

And that is one lesson that has proven invaluable time and time again in many circumstances, even now. :)

Happy Father's Day with lots of love, Dad. :)