Happy Birthday Dad!

Thanks for all you have done and all that you continue to do for your daughter #1 (who is coincidentally your #1 fan). When I think of the things I most admire in myself (wow, narcissist much?) I realize they are all things I have admired and learned from you. Thank you for telling nothing but good stories and for knowing jokes that can make an entire table erupt in laughter (I gotta work on this one, I can never remember anything but the punch line). Thank you for teaching me how to accept (a moderate amount of) teasing and how to laugh at myself. Thank you for reading to me and introducing me to your favorite writers, losing myself in a book is still one of my favorite past-times. Thank you for writing me letters--not just when I was away on trips to visit aunts and grandmas but also when I was home and an angsty, unreachable teen. You have shown me the power of the written word and how effective a means of communication it can be and for that I am grateful. Thank you also for all of the awesome one-liners of which you are still the king (as much as I try to emulate you). Thank you for all of the delicious meals you have cooked (I forgive you for the chicken cacciatore) and for instilling in me the importance of good food, family dinners and lively conversation. Wherever I live there will always be a good piece of Parmesan in the fridge. And thank you for sharing your abalone, that is real love.
Thank you for always picking up the phone when I call with such gusto and love in your voice. I can almost feel your eyes twinkling through the wires. You may call me sugar Dad, but you are the sweetest man I know. I love you.
I could go on and on (and I'm sure you would enjoy that) but I will leave it with this. You haven't given me confidence, you have given me the confidence to move mountains and because of that I am able to spread my wings and imagine all possibilities and take dramatic leaps. And I always have you to catch me.

HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY JETMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!