straight toque with tami,eh?

My Pops!

It's fitting that I begin with the man who taught me all about how to "like" people, even the hard ones.  My dad.  Ray was his name.  He was a man of great strength and incredible humor.  The top three things he taught me:

1.  "No matter if your work for McDonald's or a major corporation, you give the same amount of effort for your employer."

2.  "When you're driving, it isn't YOU I'm worried about, it's all the other people who don't know how to drive."

3.   "Your integrity is your most important asset.  Never lose it."

My dad was a hard worker.  He couldn't sit still.  He was always taking care of something or someone.  He carried his toolbox in the car wherever we went.  He always encouraged me to DO not sit.  When he was diagnosed with cancer and got to the point where he couldn't leave the house, he told me "Do you know what the worst part is?  I can't go out and shovel the snow."

Most of all, he taught me how to love my spouse.  He loved my mother with a fierceness of 10,000 warriors.  She could be difficult at times I'm sure.  But, he was patient and loved her beyond measure.  He treated her like a lady and like she was the most important thing in his life...and she was.  When they would travel places, he would stop along the road, turn up his Lawrence Welk tapes and they would have a little dance on the side of the road.  

I never had any sons, but if I did, he would have been my model for training them to be great men.  He loved the Lord and lived his religion.  He was never half and half in his commitment.  I love him for that and for so many other things.  I wish that everyone who reads this could have met him.  You would have liked him a lot.