“There are places I’ll remember, all my life though some have changed. Some forever not for better, some have gone and some remain. All these places had their moments, with lovers and friends I still can recall. Some are dead and some are living, in my life I’ve loved them all.” And how I have loved them all, everyone of them that had a role in turning me into the person that I am today. And fortunately for me, them and luck have always seemed to play a huge role in my life. Starting at the young age of three, when my eventually adopted father fell in love with my mother (then a waitress working at a diner on University Avenue in Little Rock), soon married her, and took in not only a new wife, but a 3 year-old, hyperactive little boy who would never sit still, along with his baby sister, who had not even turned one yet. I should have known then, that maybe luck (okay, a lot of luck) would always be on my side?
And fortunately for me as well, was that all thru my childhood I lived next door to two loving grandparents, who always kept a watchful eye on me, and damn, could my parents use that extra set of eyes back then (I did say I was very hyperactive didn’t I?). And throughout my sister’s illness with leukemia that would eventually take her short life, my grandparents were there for not only me, but also my parents more importantly. It was just one less thing for them to have to worry about, between all their countless trips to the hospital, doctor’s visits and tending to my sister’s needs during the last few years of her life. My grandparents were a godsend not only for me, but for all of us really.
I was lucky too that I grew up with such a tight-knit group of friends. You know, that’s the thing about childhood friends, they tend to also be your friends for life. We rode bikes together, took turns sipping our first Boone’s Farm strawberry wine together, looked thru slightly used playboy magazines together, and cruised in our cars chasing girls together, usually without much luck. Years later, as we raised our own children, we watched them grow up together as well. As they say, circle of life. And their lifelong friendships always meant the world to me, and still does.
But the two people in this world that I knew I never, ever deserved – the true loves of my life, are my two beautiful daughters. They both deserved a far better father than I ever was to them. And looking back, I should have been a better role model as they were growing up, as to what a loving husband should be for his wife, because I failed miserably in that role I know. I made way too many mistakes, and for that not only do I apologize to them, but also to their mother as well. Once again though, I was the lucky one, because I was fortunate enough to be there during their childhood alongside their mother raising them, watching them grow, taking them both to all their basketball and soccer games, and to their first dances. And we both were able to watch the world thru their eyes, but it all happened so fast, and in what seemed like a blink of the eye, they’re now both adults, two beautiful women that are now educated and self-assured women. Again, I was just a very, very lucky father.
So looking backing on my life, there are so many that I remember and still hold their memories close to me to this day. Whether it’s friends, family, loved ones or so many more that have helped shape my life in so many ways that I can’t even mention. And yes, while some are now dead and some are still living, in my life I’ve loved them all.