A Fathers Day Love Note

I started a tradition last year of posting to my Dad on Fathers Day,

please allow me to indulge myself this one day a year and break from HiHo happenings.

Dad with Whitney, Aubrey and Everett in the 90's.
Once he even rode his bicycle from Buffalo to Gardiner!

One word congers up visions of the Buffalo Yacht Club in an instant for me. The word is not sailing, commodore or even regatta, it's Dad. If he is in town, you can find him there at least once a week having lunch (with the little past commodore flag in front of his place setting). He knows everyone in the room and refers to the server by name. He was commodore in 1984, there is a wall of portrait shots of every commodore on display at the club. His is dashing, of course. When my daughter Whitney was three or four, she saw the framed photo for the first time. Her response to the picture..."this building must be really old", it still makes me smile.
Most of my tween and early teen Summers were spent at the Yacht Club.( I don't think they used the word tween then) Where Dad raced in regatta's, spent time enjoying friends,enjoyed the lake and set an example of what life can be if you pursue your dreams. He has always been passionate about things, running, art, traveling, sailing and his Doris. I reflect on sunny days at the Yacht Club where I witnessed the adults in my life happy. He has planted the seeds in me to pursue my passions and live passionately. I have not chosen the same course, but have just as much passion in my life, thanks to his living example.

Dad and Doris at the Yacht Club in the 80's

Dad, a word that congers up feelings of love and gratitude.

Happy Fathers Day, Dad!