My father has always been a little different than most fathers. If you look at pictures from his childhood he was that boy with the thick coke bottle glasses with his nose always in a book. Even though he was that smart kid that graduated high school top of his class he still has records in high school basket ball and Field and Track (shot put) that still haven’t been broken (1960s).
Growing up with a father that is an electrical engineer and scored off the charts in math and reasoning skills made him socially different. He had a lot of friends but most were in his field and they are still friends today. At home he was usually there for us (by phone) even when he traveled overseas and spent months in China, India, and in Europe had time for us.
He always helped us with school work, scout projects, and life issues after graduation. Even today he does his best help us when he can.
One Story that comes to mind is a time when my brother and I were on a scouting trip up in the mountains in California back in the late 80s early 90s I would guess. In the afternoons we had free time while most of the parents were back at camp in meetings or prepping for the next event/dinner. During this free time we would play in the hills and woods within site of the camp, Normally the older children would watch us but this time a group of us got separated from the main group. We were still within site of the campsite but were playing in area where the rock was slick and the drop off was10 to 20 feet.
While playing, I slipped and fell down off the ledge and landed in a soft patch of dirt about 15 feet down with no way to get back up the ledge or get down back to camp. After a few minutes of realizing I couldn’t get back up without a rope one of the kids with us ran back to camp. Of course he freaked out and made the story bigger than it was.
Within a few minutes the parents in the group started running to us. The best part was my father was out in front hauling butt. I’ve never seen him run that fast (even as soccer coach who scrimmaged with us) and I have never seen him run that fast since. What you need to understand is, at the time he was 6’2" and morbidly obese and should not have been able to what he did.
When they got the ledge, he figured out how to get me off the ledge without a rope and back safely topside. If I remember correctly, he saw the ledge continued around the corner where I had landed and gently made its way back down the slope to an area where I could get back up to the top.
Afterwards, he checked me for damage, and then asked if I had learned my lesson and sent me back to group for the rest of the afternoon.
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