Goodbye, Dad

I didn’t get to truly know my Dad until a few years ago.  For the first 51 years of my life, Dad was the guy of my childhood. Whenever I thought of him or spoke to him, it was the disciplinarian, the rule setter and the lesson teacher I spoke to.  We never talked about anything “real” like feelings or thoughts or beliefs; he was always the stoic guy who just handed the phone to mom when I called.