Muhammad Ali: The greatest.
Michael Jordan: The best basketball player ever.
Joe Montana: The best QB of all time.
Jerry Rice: The best WR of all time.
Ray Lewis: The best LB of a generation.
The list goes on and on. The more I try and disprove it, the more it seems to be accurate. I think the same can be said about my dad. I have previously blogged a lot about my father. Let me tell you what he isnt. He isnt perfect. I make no claims of having a father who is perfect. He has flaws like all of us do. Some of his flaws, he passed onto me. But let me tell you what he is. Dad is loyal. In an age when that word doesn't mean what it once did, he is that to a core. He and Mom just celebrated their 45th Anniversary, they have been together 50 years. He doesn't have a lot of friends, but the ones he does, he would literally go to the end of the world for them. He holds onto to those friends, even if he hasn't spoken to them in a few years. He is honest. I have never met a man who is as uncompromising in his integrity. He might have made more money in life, or maybe gotten a little further, if he had no conscious about doing so on the backs of others. He wouldn't stand for that. Dad is passionate. He doesn't care about a lot, but he cares deeply about a few things. Mom, Patrick, and I were all he had for about 20 years. That is all he needed. No matter how bad things got in the outside world, he faced those challenges because of his desire to provide for us. As long as we are okay, he is fine with everything else. His family has expanded more than he could have ever imagined, and in ways that are foreign to us (lots of pink). He loves in a way that sets an example for others to follow. He is a man of faith. No matter what obstacles that life throws at him. Challenges that would make most men question their faith, he remains steadfast in his beliefs. When it comes to his religion, he is an oak. He is funny. He has a tongue like a sword. He posses a wit, quicker than a rabbit. Sometimes he relies on his humor to lighten a mood, where most would not be brave enough to make a joke. He is smart, he has aged well, and he is goofy. He is my dad. I wish I could be with him this fathers day, more than anything in the world. I'm thankful though that I can still pick up the phone and make that call. I am thankful that FaceTime is an option. Our reunion will have to wait just a few weeks. Tomorrow, I will concentrate on being the Daddy, not the son. That's the way he would have wanted it anyway.
My father is a sure fire, first round, hall of famer. Tim Ayers: The greatest man I have ever known.
And let me say this... While this blog is dedicated to my father, I am blessed to have a first ballot hall of fame father in law, too. I have said I won the lottery when it came to in laws, but Rojo has been not just a great FiL, but a good friend, too. Rob Phillips:all a guy could ever ask for, in a father in law.
