My Dad

This picture. It might seem silly, but this is one of my favorite pictures of my dad. It speaks volumes about the dad he was while I was growing up.

I had this bright idea as a kid that if I tied a string around an orange, hung it from something, then took a picture of it, it might look like it was floating in space. You know how it is when a kid gets an idea.

I couldn't find anything convenient to hang the orange from, but there was my dad, sitting in his chair, reading the paper like he did every evening when he got home from work. So I asked him to hold the string.

I don't remember if he asked me what I was doing or if I told him. I'm pretty sure he didn't criticize or even offer suggestions (and I'm sure this time I didn't ask for any). He just let me try my experiment and figure things out for myself. Want to nail two boards together to make an airplane? Go for it. Car broke down? This might be what's wrong with it. Go get a Chilton's manual and fix it yourself.

I remember someone asking me when we were in the middle of building the house, "How do you know how to do all of this?" The truth was, we didn't, but because my dad was the way he is, I had the confidence that we could probably figure it out. And for that, I am eternally grateful.