Dad (Dr. Meynardo M. Mendoza) passed away in the Philippines this morning. There was really no one like him. He was only 411 but he took crap from no one. He taught me about music. My school years in Long Island were filled the stereo blasting Benny Goodman, The Rat Pack, Elvis Presley and Broadway Musicals. If you were a friend of mine at that time, you could hear it from down the street. He taught me about being funny. That the content of telling a joke sometimes wasnt as funny as the presentation. He taught me that it is perfectly acceptable to hug and kiss your father. He was an awesome fisherman. He would sit on the dock of Three Village Long Island or surf cast off of short beach/long beach and come home with tons of Blue Fish, Flounder and snapper. He often times would stop by all the Filipino friends and family houses on the way home to see if they wanted any. HE LOVED ACTION MOVIES! Dirty Harry, Charles Bronson, Steve McQueen. He knew them all. He knew every Western. HE LOVED THE KNICKS! I remember him watching the old skool guys like Walt Frazier, Ernie Grunfeld, Paul Westfall, Bernard KIng and Patrick Ewing. He loved seeing Charles Oakley intimidate other teams. He loved watching the team up of Spreewell, Anthony Mason and Marcus Camby. HE LOVED BOXING! He brought me up on Ali, Holmes, Sugar Ray, Marvin Hagler Roberto Duran and Julio Caesar Chavez. The era of Iron Mike was something I will always share with Dad. He loved my friends. We had an open door policy. You could come over. Eat our food. Sleep over. Play video games to the wee hours of the morning. If we wanted to have a party to celebrate anything, Dad and Mom said OK without hesitation. He treated my friends like family. He loved his family. I had the blessing to live in an extended family household. All my living grandparents and my family under one roof. Yep, 8 people. And you know what, the house never felt crowded. Thanks Dad for making me who I am. I love you. This was one of my fondest memories of Dad. He stood up from his wheel chair at my sisters wedding and blew everyone away with the first dance.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 17:54:34 +0000
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