A Tribute To My Father

I was sitting on the couch when I thought about my father, that passed away 3 years ago in March. He was a very discipline individual that always gave someone a fair chance in life, which he believed without passing a judgement. I thought about a specific time in my life when I was 17. When I turned 17, one of the happiest times my father felt, was because I wanted to do something for a purpose, without not caring on relevance. I joined the Army, because I knew when I came out of the service 4 years later, that I would of saved about $16,000. This would be enough to put me through college for 2 years in 1978, which at that time, $16,000 was a large amount to have as a saving. Strange things come over us at any given time, to change ,a plan for our future. Well as it was thought of, I did change my mind, and didn’t go to college until 2 years after I came out of the Army.I won a scholarship for a 2 year term in college then, so I had all this extra money that I saved. I knew my father worked 2 jobs as during the day, he worked at the Manhattan supreme court, and at night in the post office, so he could give his family a way of life to be proud of.In my heart, I wanted to do something special for him as he gave every bone in his body to his family to have a good life. What I did, was the $16,000 I saved from the Army, was given to a builder in Coral Springs Florida, for a down payment on a condo to live in for his retirement. My father was about to take a trip to Florida to scout out a condo for his retirement, so I told him before he leaves tomorrow to Florida, is to open this envelope. Well the next day before we went to the airport, in which I drove him and my mother, that I had a gift for him. He was puzzled, as he couldn’t think on any layer, what kind of gift I was going to give him. He opened the envelop named Florida, and once he unwind the letter, it said a warranty deed for a home is paid for 10 years. You see the 10 year term, was for a mortgage he didn’t have to pay for on his retirement. I never saw my father ever being as emotional in all my life, as he broke down crying with my mother. I told him for all he has done for my life, and the care and love you provided to me, that I wanted to honor him to transition of working to retirement this way. He came back in 10 days from Florida and has so high of a praise for a place he ever dreamed of having. We never all the time agreed on everything, and at times we banged our heads together to resolve issues. But the one thing I thought of a few days ago, was the honor he received from the National Guard coming to Florida, when he was buried. The honor of a man to his family and his nation, to allow people to be proud. I will miss him dearly. I love you Dad.