THE LONG TOUGH ROAD OF BEING A DAD

      Here's a photo of my dad from 1936-37. It's before he was married and he had just started farming on his own. He's a rather cheerful handsome looking dude. 

      Here's Dad in 2002 at his 90th birthday. His Parkinson's was quite advanced by that time but he still appreciated his birthday and said that he never thought he would grow to be 90 years old. 

     Here's the last picture I have with Dad. He was 92-93 and Parkinson's was well advanced. 

     I can't help but notice the long slow deterioration in health.
   
     He raised 4 sons . We were a challenge. At the 90th birthday party some of the biggest issues were mentioned with humor. A certain motorcycle purchase was a sore spot.

     However, the great sadness for him being a Dad was to not be able to raise his only daughter. She died at age 11 and he never was able to come to terms with her loss.