WHAT HAS HE DONE?

Behind me are the real stars in his life, his friends.

Sometimes accessing your child's contribution to life can be in part measured by what you can see on paper. What kind of student he was, what college he went to and what he does for a living, who he marries and what kind of moral fiber he has. All I have mentioned is just scratching the surface, there are more subtle attributes that go unnoticed by the public or parental scrutiny.

They are the salt and pepper of our family history!

Being a father is not always easy, Mamma comes first, Dad is a part-time resident, and even Dad defers to Mom. I feel that this is the natural order of things, and rightfully so. Even the most hardened criminals remember and love their mothers.

From out of the past, and back to the future!

Today is #1 Son's birthday! Anthony has been around a long time now, that makes me old, but I am glad to leave the world in his capable hands. He has never disappointed his parents, shame has never reared its ugly head and the world at large accepts him. I think that a pretty good set of credentials to have. People say TLW (The Little Woman) and myself did a pretty good job of raising him, and I thank them for such a compliment, but he did it himself.

She had a lot to do with it all, thankfully.

Compassion rides beneath the surface, if incurs knowing and believing what you feel, feel it passionately and act on it when needed, #1 Son does that and more. Don't need to look hard as his father, he has done that all his life.

Beauty begets beautiful

When #1 Son was born, I feared for him. The Viet Nam war was on my mind, just as WWII was on my father's mind when I was born. What would be his ambition, what would be his goals and most importantly, what would he contribute to the world? Would he grow up to be a man? I guess every father has those things in the back and front of his mind.

His namesake!

But as I look back at #1 Son's life after all these years, I realize he set about his life in an orderly fashion, looked for help when he needed it and thought through all his final solutions to his quest and issues of the day. All he did he did with other's in mind, his parents and his siblings and then himself. Today he reaps the benefits of a wonderful life, his beautiful wife and child make him whole, make him someone special when he seeks to be ordinary. He can't help himself, he just gets involved with the right kind of people and things happen that are good for him.

Still gorgeous!

So, today is his birthday, and like that rainy stormy morning so long ago, he has weathered his own life, the disappointments and the truths he faced with class, the triumphs and victories require him no laurels or victory laps. Just inner satisfaction governs his life and maybe teaches us all what we need to be in life.

Happy Birthday, Anthony, we love you.