"Superman doesn't just die does he?"  Billy Rundel

Yes, unfortunately he does.

This is probaby the hardest entry I will write here. 

My dad died on Nov.28tn.  Three weeks later I am still having a hard time with it.

He was one part John Wayne.  I will never be able to watch  "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" again without tearing up when Nathan Brittles accepts the "shiny gold watch" that says "Lest We Forget".

My Dad was one part John Wayne and one part Atticus Finch. 

My Dad taught me right from wrong.  

I grew up during an era where Westerns were the mainstay of American media, both on the big screen and television and my Dad loved westerns.  So, westerns (and The Untouchables) were always playing in the background at our house in those pre-VCR days.

But in the middle to late sixties, with the entire Civil Rights Movement, Dr. King and Vietnam, the idea of right and wrong, the idea  of standing tall for what you believed in became important.

And my Dad taught me what was important.  We didn't always agree on the any of the issues of the day back then, in fact we agreed on very little.  But my Dad taught me how to argue, how to debate without insulting the other person. 

As I wrote in the Healthcare blog, he was not my bio-dad but it didn't matter.  He adopted me after marrying my mother and raised me as if I was his own.  He loved me and I loved him back.

He was a judo champion, an avid outsdoorman and he loved to read. We had been through so much with his health crisis this summer but he fought hard to stay with us.  Unfortunately, that generous heart of his could not keep fighting. 

My Dad taught me about life and how in the face of adversity to soldier on, that your word was your bond and many other important life lessons.

As long as I practise those life lessons my Dad will always be with me and his spirit will live on.