Warning: The following is shameless gushing about my Dad.
I’ll be honest, my Dad is the coolest thing about me. I mean, I’m cool too… in like a Mr. Bean, awkward, stumbling, kind of way. But if you know me for more than an hour, I’ve likely told you all about my Dad. He is to me, Harrison Ford combined with Tom Selleck. He is the epitome of old fashioned masculinity, ridiculous humor, and all around badassery. My Dad is hero for me, my siblings, friends, and friends of friends.
I realized today that I have created more photo manipulation art of my Dad than any other person. It's not surprising, since I hold my Dad in such high esteem. But it got me thinking, what about my Dad is so compelling? What brings myself and others, to talk about my dad as if he is the stuff of legend? So the following is a few of the reasons I think my Dad is so epic.
My Dad has his own fashion sense and trends, time, and fitting in, have never affected his clothing choices. As illustrated in the first photo, even when he was young he still wore the memorable cow boy hat and beard. Even now in his sixties, he still wears the cowboy hat, button up shirt, beard, and boots. If my Dad were to change his style tomorrow and wear whatever is the current trend, I'm pretty sure it would destroy the fabric of reality and end life as we know it.
Even though he's a Grandpa, he could still kick butt. My Dad's always been a tough guy, but I expect that even when he gets to be in his nineties, he'll still be formidable. Now my Dad's fearsomeness is probably exaggerated in my mind. Family legend tells of many of the fights he won in his younger days, but I'm pretty sure he did pull the arms off a bear and beat up a small army or some thing like that. It sounds legit. Right?
- Though my Dad is strong, and fearsome, he has a very loving, silly side. When someone can step away from their cool demeanor, stick cheetos up their nose and say, "Pull my finger," you know they have reached a new level of awesome. If there was one person in the world, my 21 month old daughter would leave me for, it's Dad. When he picks her up, she falls alseep within minutes, completely content, as though all is well with the world. Though of course Dad jokes that his talking can put anyone to sleep.
Dad doesn't live by the rules everyone else does. For one his diet is infamous. Somehow he has thrived off margarine, steak, whip cream, and cheetos. He's one of those people whom you predict their diet should catch up to them at any moment and they'll start putting on weight, but still year after year, the doctors marvel at my Dad's good health. My Dad's idea of a refreshing drink is a cup of heavy whip cream. If that does not make someone more than human, I don't know what does.
He embraces weirdness. Ever gather the family around the toilet to flush easter egg dye down the back of the toilet just to watch the pretty swirling colors? I have literally done this every year since I was a child. Sometimes I even forget that this is a weird family tradition. But my family is full of that. Weird stories. Moments that are impressive to us, that other people would likely scratch their heads at. Yet I can't help but feel proud of the things that make us odd.
- "Every person is like a diamond, with many faces," my Dad has told me. True enough. My Dad is a complicated person. Though he is tough, loving, silly, bizarre, he is also just as much an intelligent, studious, and formidable in a debate. He's read enough books in his life time to fill up a library. Sitting next to his book shelf, with a worn out book, and pipe, Dad has a dignified aura to him. There was a time where if my Dad told me something, it was pretty much a fact to me. Of course as I get older, I learn more and more to have my own unique perspective on things. Even still, when Dad and I talk about topics we disagree on, his opinion still carries weight.
My Dad will likely laugh at this post and pat me on the head for my overly enthusiastic description of him. But while my description may sound too idealistic, it is not that I think my Dad is so perfect he farts out rainbows, though I am sure he would tell you that he does. My Dad is human, and has flaws like the rest of us, but for me the good qualities outshine the bad. And as childish as the notion may seem, in my eyes my Dad still slays dragons.