This is an entry to announce that it's been exactly 2 years since my father passed away.
For the last 24 hours, I've been stuck in flashbacks...."it was 2 years since I last talked to my dad." "It was 2 years since my mom called at 3AM (yes, I actually woke up at that time) to say that the hospital called and dad took a turn for the worse and she was going to drive up and see him." "It was 2 years since my brother called to tell me that dad died."
Every one of those minutes I relived. I would stare at the clock, waiting for that exact anniversary to pass, my stomach tightening up.....except for early this morning when something made me wake up and look at the clock, seeing it was 3AM, and collapsing back in a restless sleep.
In some ways, my dad's death brought about some positives. It brought me closer to my aunt, his sister. It certainly made my younger brother and I closer. It made me more aware of the importance of life insurance. It made me more aware of the nighttime sky (he was an astronomer). And it made me aware that I will never get a second chance to experience my childrens' childhood.
Here is my dad in happier, younger times. He's the kid here. Probably in the early to mid 1940's.
And here's my father at his graduation from Pomona College. He's on the far left. Those 4 guys are all recipients of National Defense Education Act scholarships, which was a result of a mad push to increase the number of scientists in the space and defense industries, in order to beat the Soviets. My dad was one of the earliest recipients of this scholarship. What you're looking at is a photo of probably the brightest scientific minds our country could produce in the early 60's. Literally, a group of rocket scientists.
However, with all that knowledge about our universe, the ability to figure out how to mathematically put a missile in space and land it on Moscow (or the moon), my father chose instead to teach his love of Astronomy to 2 generations of college students, and devote countless hours to the field of amateur astronomy. And not only that, my father (the consummate "nerd") learned the sports of baseball and soccer and worked as a volunteer in both sports for decades.
In short, my father was not impressive because of what he knew. He was impressive because of how much he loved teaching others what he knew.
And because of his passion for teaching, I can look anyone in the eye and say that I've never electrocuted myself while installing a light fixture. Everything else he's ever taught me was just gravy (and if you've ever felt the sweet sweet joy of 120 volts coursing through your body, you'd understand the value of such a lesson).
He sounds like a wonderful and gifted man. Definitely a hard act to follow.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing when one looks back over one's life and thinks of all the teachers that one has had. And, how only a couple of them stand out. The thing that all the 'stand outs' had in common was a passion for knowledge and for imparting it to others. Rare commodities indeed.
And, lets face it, if he could teach you how to install a light fixture without ill effects, he must have been very talented!
I'm glad you had such a good dad, and I'm sorry he's already gone. Those anniversaries do get easier.
ReplyDeleteI remember your post from two years ago very well, Steve. Clearly, he did a great job as a dad to have raised you, who are in turn a great dad to your girls. May you feel close to your dad every time you look up at the stars.
ReplyDeleteCool, it sounds like your Dad's greatest legacy was being your Dad, which is fantastic!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you were a very privileged little boy to have such a great Pop.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear he was so loved. :o)
I particularly enjoy the memories of those who have left us. They are clear and concise..not muttered with day to day things.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
best thing he did was have and raise you... turned you into a real man and a good man; clearly you're never gonna be a rocket scientist but you're a nice bloke
ReplyDeleteYep. Things like this teach us to appreciate the value of having good parents – unfortunately many people don’t realise until too late.
ReplyDeleteAnd you should try experiencing the pleasure of having 240 volts coursing through your body.
Simon, our washer/dryer are on a 240V line, I should play around with that sometime. Although, isn't anything above 120VAC just overkill?
ReplyDeleteFor a plain answer, it depends on a large number of factors. As you probably know, voltage alone is just one factor: after all, you can take tens of thousands of volts from a small capacitance charge, where the current flow is limited. Without giving the whole story, what I did was to accidentally grab both ends of an old-fashioned lighting rheostat (this was when I was still at school) with each hand, not realising there was no rear cover to it. It gave me rather alarming muscular spasms, but didn’t cause cardiac arrest. Since I was also gripping the earthed casing I imagine most of it went through my hands rather than across my chest. I wouldn’t recommend anyone else try it though.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK all domestic mains services going to power circuits (though not lighting ones for some reason) have to pass through an RCD, which is essentially a device that trips out if the line current doesn’t match the return current (typically by more than 35mA). Unless you have one of these fitted I suggest you use children or animals for such experiments.
I love this post. I totally love those pics.. Your Dad was incredible.
ReplyDeleteAustralia's all 240v, but that's because our awesomeness requires twice as much electricity in all things.
ReplyDeleteSteve... it's true. The anniversaries do get - if not easier, then more bearable. But the quiet fading of memories is, in its own way, even worse. At least, it is to me.
Such is the condition of humankind.
Your dad sounds like a good man. A loss for all of us, really. Good teachers with a passion for it are hard to find.
ReplyDeleteTony said it best....my dad valued, more than his PhD, more than the awards he got for his profession, or volunteering, or the times he was hired as an expert witness in court (you'd be surprised how many times an astronomer is needed to refute a witness' claim that it was too dark, or the sun was in his eyes), he valued being a dad.
ReplyDeleteFlinty, the toughness of Australians never ceases to amaze me....even the public utilities are trying to kill you, and yet you keep plugging away. Does your water company put baby crocodiles in your drinking water?
Your Dad sounds like a great man. You have my sympathies on the anniversary of his passing.
ReplyDeleteThe specs on those four dudes are insane!
ReplyDeleteOh, I know...the skinny ties and skinny belts are unbelievable as well. I'm guessing the lenses on those glasses could be used on deep-space telescopes to locate supernovas and black holes millions of light years away. They're so thick, you can see into the future.
ReplyDeleteThe guy that's second from the right owned a Corvette, and one day, he drove it at speeds fast enough that a spoiler would've been necessary to keep the vehicle down, but his front end got slightly airborne. A real crazy son of a bitch, from what I understand.
Yeah, the lenses look like Coke bottles. I don't mind the skinny ties though - not quite that skinny perhaps - I'm trying to bring them back into fashion.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Corvette dude does have a pretty cool hairdo - slicked back for speed!
He is one of those who used his scientific skills for recreation as often as he did for scientific pursuit. Kind of like the "Y'all check this out" school of thought.
ReplyDelete