I decided to visit dad today. Of course when I arrived, I found him in his shed. Sometimes it seems he lives in this place as he pretty much is tinkering away in there all day long. Without fail.

It feels so strange seeing him so old and frail now. Being old and frail was never a trait I expected to personify dad, but Father Time waits for now one hey?

We lived through a couple of big scares last year which meant we nearly lost him, but this Greek man is made of sterner stuff. I bet there were a couple of times where he stared Death directly in the eye and said… “Not today you bastard! I am not ready yet!”

He is tough as nails and could probably easily beat me in an arm wrestle to this day. I am not kidding! I’ve always looked up to him as the tower of power and strength he personified and a true father-figure of our family. There was nothing he could not achieve without some brain and brawn.

He had goals. He crushed them. And he did it all for his family. Yeah, the stories I could tell are of absolute.

He’s getting on now. Pushing 86. His eyes are shot. His hearing is compromised. His friends and immediate family are dying around him. But on he goes. Does not know the meaning of surrender.

Seeing him again in his shed today, I asked if I could take his photo.

He quickly replied, “What? You need a decent pic for my grave’s tombstone?”

Always the joker. Always my father.