50 days to 50 - lesson 5: To know me is to know my daddy John Wesley Parker, Daddy or JP, as I loved to call him, was MY DAD, if no one else I loved him from the moment I came into this earth And I think he loved me just the same He named me, though in a drunken stooper And swore to me it was in the Bible After many years of being unable to find it He apologized for making such a terrible mistake Years later, a colleague of mine at City Schools, found it in the Good Book When I told him, what joy and validation came into his eyes I followed him everywhere To the bars, to the clubs, to Uncle Wallaces store & barber shop to the track to run, to the pool hall, to the pacific to swim Did what he did, walked as he walked, learned what he taught: - To prepare for the ambush - pilot to pilot (tracking, scanning, observing) - to take anyone in one blow (and I still can, dont get it twisted) He was always full of love & protection for his children He was crazy, violent, angry for so long Broken, weak, near death Then strong, determined, an overcomer Sober for 35+ years Mentor for others going thru Passionate about doing what was right Treating those who were seen as less, even all the more right Ready to shoot to kill if you dared mistreated them Strong belief in, passion and advocate for the underdog Ill go to hell, in karosene shorts, lit hed say so youd understand the extent of his words, his stance, his belief And, his ability to back it all up hardworker, provider for his family, on time, ahead of time, all the time athlete, handsome, mans man few words, no nonsense, let his yes be yes and his nos no hot headed, temper, structured, rules, high expectations Wanted (and provided) better for his family grandfather like no other spoiled my girls rotten Christmas trees, Disneyland, cellphones, party hats I had NEVER seen JP, my dad like that??! Strong, stubborn and principled to the end Daddy, my daddy, JP, the mans man Semper Fidelis #countdownto50
Posted on: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 02:56:22 +0000
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