My Dad turned 60 this Monday. I have been very busy this week with my team moving office buildings and a asset review so i didn't write this the day it happened. My dad went to the navy at 19, wanted to go to the air force but they contacted him right after he enlisted. He wanted to do something cool but Uncle Sam needed him in the boiler room for the uss constellation. anyways he then got out and worked for the FAA. started in the warehouse packing boxes, but after some schools he became a plumber, an AC man, A mechanic, and an electrician all at uncle Sam's expense. He always provided for me and is/was a very good friend. I have a great relationship with my dad the only time things got "heated" was when i was 13 and my mom tried to spank me and i grabbed the wooden spoon and told her no. I was called out to the garage where my dad was working on the car and as he flexed his muscles said "boy you obey your mother or you are going to have to deal with me and if you think you are big enough then lets go" needless to say i did what i was told because at that time my dad would have whooped my ass. He gave me very good life advice and we went fishing in his boat every summer. we didn't have much money but we always had "vacations" even if it was just camping at the lake. My best memory is when my I was called to the principles office in 2nd grade and instead of being in trouble my dad was there with the truck and bass boat and we went fishing instead. He was always fun to talk to and alot like me. In 1992 he had a tumor on his auditory nerve between his brain and ear drum in his inner ear, we thought it was an infection etc but during the operation they had to cut the nerve to remove the tumor. he lost his sense of balance some and he was now deaf in one ear but that was it. Well he never went back for a follow up (we didn't know he was supposed too) and two years ago he went in for a hearing aid for his other ear. well they did the check up then and in the previous surgery left a tiny tiny piece of the tumor. well unchecked that thing grew and was so big it was actually pressing on his brain stem and coming out of his skull. they cut his head open (again) and lifted his brain up again and took all of the tumor out. It wrapped itself around his facial nerve so they cut that out but while they were at it they cut a nerve on his tongue and connected it to his facial nerve. he had very high blood pressure and i asked the doctor about it and they didn't seem too concerned at the time but after the surgery he had a stroke. Later they found out that it was a hormone imbalance of his adrenal glands the entire time. and this could have been prevented. This caused him to have problems talking, eating and walking. He has half of his face numb and he sees double. He also had his eye stitched with two stitches because he cant really blink. He is doing much better now except the blinking thing and the double vision thing. And his balance is not returning he constantly feels like he is falling. He uses a walker or a wheelchair most of the time. My mom has rheumatoid arthritis and she is the primary caregiver. and that is why i am living in Oklahoma ( but honestly I like it better than Houston). I am trying to help them out and let my dad have a few really good experiences and life.

Me and dad at my wedding looking good I don't have any more here at work.
but happy birthday dad i am glad you are here.