He's My Dad

With Father's Day rapidly approaching I have spent some time wracking my brains for an idea for what to do for my dad. He's quite a guy.

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just before WWII broke out. My grandmother tells me he was just a little tyke when somehow he got his hands on a Japanese "Rising Sun" flag and waved it out the second floor of their brand new home in what was then the pretty classy Rhawnhurst suburbs. Since the flag waving happened only weeks after Pearl Harbor, you can imagine the fireworks that took place.


My dad grew up playing along the Pennypack Creek - swimming, biking and skipping stones everyday - We must assume he didn't serve time for the flag waving - but no one is telling. He bought a bright red Ford convertible with white leather interior and went off to MIT to learn how to be a Mechanical Engineer. He met my mother there - she being a Boston native and married her soon after he graduated.

He then served as a fresh Second Lieutenant in the Army at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland to work off his ROTC obligation between the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He repaired Main Battle Tanks and butted heads with the "Army" way of (not) doing things. Despite being at loggerheads, he was soon promoted to Captain.

Obligation discharged, and after deciding the Army wasn't the career for him (this decision took about two seconds maximum), he went to work for Howe Scale in Rutland, Vermont and his most vivid memory seems to be the endless depths of snow.


He and my mom later moved to Lansdale to work at Turbo Machine Co. where he designed machinery that made the then newfangled spun artificial fabrics like nylon and rayon. It was at Turbo that he met the guy that had the place "down the shore". My dad, always had to have a few things in his life - something to tinker with, a dog and a boat!

My dad often went fishing with his coworker buddy and eventually bought the man's house down the shore, but not after he had gone through four boats, getting a bigger one each time.


My Grandfather needing help at the family-owned business, the Atlas Bronze Corporation, a non-ferrous metal foundry, talked my dad into working for him. Rather than move downtown to be close to work, my dad commuted nearly an hour one way every day including Saturdays for years so that his sons (my two brothers and I) could go to a High School renown for its academics. Dad - I can't thank you enough for this huge sacrifice you made for me - there are simply no words - your unselfishness has meant so much for me and my brothers.


My dad, being an engineer, expected my brothers and I to "figure things out" and to learn everything we could about everything. He was demanding - stern - and fair. He imbued a lifelong desire within me to question things, to figure things out, to think critically, to realize not knowing something was but the first step in a process... to know where to efficiently look for the proper answers - to know what sources to trust - and to recognize a "right answer" when I found one.

He also insisted I learn how to swim, to bike, rebuild a car engine, to canoe, sail, and powerboat, to never question my own ability to learn how to do something. Once again, Dad, I can never thank you enough for that - the world can be a scary place - but it can be full of adventure and good times when one has faith in oneself. You have given me a wonderful and priceless gift.


About eight years ago, my dad called me up out of the blue and said, "Get your sea bag packed. We are going for a boat ride." I found myself in Jacksonville, Florida preparing a houseboat for a 1,200 mile journey up the inland waterway to the upper reaches of the Chesapeake Bay. My dad, my mom, younger brother and I sailed from Green Cove Springs and never looked back.

After a couple weeks passed, we arrived in Oxford, Maryland. One engine breakdown, one near capsizing in the shoals in the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and one bone-chilling thunderstorm at Hilton Head, South Carolina where we later learned a tornado had been spotted just a couple miles away - and the memories of a lifetime - the glorious sunsets, the shore birds overhead and in the swamps, alligators and dolphins, the shrimp boats heading to sea... Dad, you made it possible and I'd sail anywhere with you, anytime.

It wasn't until a few years ago that my Dad actually got his US Coast Guard Master 100 Gross Ton Captain's license. He must have thousands of hours at the helm of a boat. To celebrate, I had someone very special make him some Captain Bob caps. I bet you've noticed that he always, always, is wearing one.

I had to dig around before I found a picture of him without one on!


Dad, I bet when this picture was taken - sometime during your collage years, you had no idea where your journey in life was going to lead you - I'm so very glad and so very lucky that journey led you to having me as your son.

Happy Father's Day Dad. I love you.