by Thomas Johnson

Created on: December 29, 2008

If I could spend just one more day with my dad, I would spend every minute of that day thanking him for all that he did for me. I would give him some of the honor that he deserves for making such tremendous sacrifices for me throughout my childhood, but one day would not be sufficient for that. Because of those sacrifices, my childhood was a wonderful one; it was so good that I would not change a single thing about it, if I could live it all over again.

I do not feel that I spent enough time with Dad after I grew up. I did not honor him as I should have while he was still here, and I would love to have the chance to tell him that I am sorry and to tell him how much he really did mean to me. I did not fully appreciate him until after he was gone, and that makes me very ashamed.

I want this article to honor my dad, of course, but I also hope that it will encourage those who still have their dads to spend more time with them while they can and to express their gratitude to them. There will come a day when you will wish that you had.

I wrote the following article and had it published in the local paper just before the fourteenth anniversary of Dad's passing.

My Dad

My dad, Paul Johnson, died at seventy-nine years of age on September 27, 1994, as a result of bone cancer.

In describing my dad to someone, there are many terms that I would have to use: Dad was honest, friendly, unassuming, hard-working, devoted, and faithful. The first word to come to mind, though, would be "reliable."

In this ever-changing world, we need people in our lives on whom we know that we can depend. My dad was such a person. My mom and I were always able to rely on Dad, and he never let us down; he was our rock.

Dad was totally dedicated to his family, and he worked hard to provide for us. He worked as the superintendent of the parking facilities for the Edward C. Minas Company, a large department store in downtown Hammond, Indiana, my hometown. Dad was responsible for the daily operation and maintenance of both the outdoor parking lot and the four story parking garage that were owned by the store.

The Minas Company relied on Dad to keep the store's parking facilities looking good and functioning efficiently. The parking facilities were where customers formed their first and their last impressions of the Edward C. Minas Company on each of their visits. Dad was well aware of this and accepted it as a personal challenge to make the parking experience as pleasant as he possibly could for the Minas customers.

Dad

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