My Dad is my hero. This 85 year old giant of morality and integrity is a card carrying member of The Greatest Generation. The son of Russian Jewish immigrants, he grew up in Brooklyn, played stickball, handball, and could turn 50 cents (2 subway fares, a hotdog, a ride on the Cyclone, with money to spare) into an adventure. He was an Eagle Scout, literally, who led generations of Jewish boy scouts at Ten Mile River Boy Scout Camp in the Catskills. He took the subway to college, lived at home and worked in his father's store until enlisting in the Navy. My dad fought in WWII and served on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific where as a communications officer, he edited the only shipboard daily newspaper in the U.S. Navy -- Every Day Underway was the paper's motto. Dad came home, married Mom (she also served in the Navy, stateside) and went into the advertising business, eventually founding his own ad agency. He still goes into New York City nearly every day working on projects, writing marketing plans for old clients, and inspiring everyone who knows him. Oh, I almost forgot, he still plays tennis.
Dad's been married to Mom for more than 50 years and they have three kids and 5 grandkids. Get the picture? He's a singular fellow, and still incredibly dapper, just a little hard of hearing. So where is my Dad today? He's in France making his "farewell tour" with two old friends. Where's Mom? She's home waiting for him, not being able to do much of the serious walking Europe demands anymore. My Dad just wanted one more trip to Paris, one more walk through the Tuilleries, one more stroll down the Champs Elysees. Can you blame him?
Vive Mon Pere!
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