Joe Severns 3404 Sussex Drive Valdosta, GA 31605
Happy Father’s Day, Dad
I idolized my father. Not so much because he was a superhero, or a fireman, or a cop, but because he could master any task that any one of us could give him. He was strong as an ox, belying his stature. When he was younger he was a martial artist with a belt in black. He was a bad dude.
When I was very young, there seemed nothing that my old man couldn’t do. One day, some thugs stole my brother’s baseball. My dad confronted him calmly, and broke a bat over his leg to make a point. My brother got his ball back in short order, although his bat was another story.
My dad’s name was Dave. Everybody seemed to like him. He had a story for every occasion and commanded every room that he entered. He was my hero.
He had a way of making things OK. If something went wrong, he fixed it. He always knew the right thing to say, and always had a moral to every story, no matter what.
My dad died right after my twentieth birthday. Almost a dozen years ago.
It broke my heart. He died of cancer that started at his kidneys. He was a smoker, and was almost until the day he died. Needless to say, he was also stubborn.
Dad was my cheering section. I was much larger than him. Six foot three, two hundred pounds by my sophomore year of high school. I played football and lacrosse. He rallied from the sidelines, barely missing a game.
He was the best salesman I knew. And although I wasn’t too familiar with other salespeople, he always seemed to sell, and we always knew when he had a good week. Steak was the telltale sign.
My father was the smartest man I knew. He was an endless font of trivial information, and a solid go-to guy with a problem. He knew what I was thinking or feeling even before I did.
Every night, he would pour himself a drink, and lie on the couch, exhausted from his days work. We would be very careful not to upset him, or disturb him, as our lives were valuable.
As this father’s day approaches, I remember my dad. A man with swelling pride and protective style. A man who loved me completely, without fail.
A man who taught me everything, without question.