“As long as you’re alive, Dad is alive.” My old man said that several times on Father’s Day in 2012 while talking to John Henry, an uncle and my late grandfather’s brother-in-law and best friend. I’ve thought about that statement occasionally in the 12 years since. For my father, John was the last connection left […]
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part IV: The old man and John Henry Read More »
I’ve written at length about my father’s early transgressions. Needless to say, he fought the law a lot, and the law ultimately won. What began with stealing BBs from a hardware store in Baldwin, Kansas, steadily escalated. First, as a pre-teen, he began burglarizing the houses of the people on his newspaper route. Then, he
Twelve Days of Christmas 2024, Part III: Why the old man finally found his way Read More »
I’ve written about my dad so often that there are times when I wonder if I’m out of stories. It’s in those moments that I pull up my archived interviews, including several with him in the months before he died on Aug. 5, 2019. I always find a gem. In this case, it came from
Wisdom and flat heads on what would have been Dad’s 79th birthday Read More »
I wasn’t going to write this blog. I figured I’d go to sleep and forget about a tweet that really offended me. I know, I know. It’s social media, land of the offensive post, tweet, snap, etc. I’ve learned enough in my years of managing accounts for work to know that for everything great about
Webb: I’m doing just fine as a ‘backup plan’ thanks Read More »
I’ve written two of these blogs, attempting to impart wisdom unto my stepsons when they graduated from high school in 2014 and 2017. Those seemed easier than this one. Maybe it’s because they’re boys. Or maybe this one is more difficult because it’s our youngest child. Before I get into that, I want to brag
Webb: Words of wisdom for my stepdaughter after graduation Read More »
I almost never argued with the old man. You can count the number of times we argued on one hand. That isn’t to say I didn’t disagree with him. As you would expect in a father-son relationship that spanned 43 years, we disagreed about plenty. Those of you who know me are probably staring at
Webb: My last argument with Dad Read More »
Note: This blog was written on Jan. 26, 2019, about six weeks before Dad passed away on Aug. 5, 2019. Today brought another “shit’s getting real” moment with my Dad. Before I get into that, I should say that these moments really aren’t what you think they’d be. At least they haven’t been for me.
Note: This blog was written on April 16, 2019. Dad passed away at age 74 on Aug. 5, 2019 … I hate cancer. We all do. But you really don’t know how much you hate cancer until it gets personal. For me, that’s seeing the toughest man I’ve met struggle with pain and wither away
Webb: Helping Dad be at peace Read More »
Note: This blog was written on Dec. 22, 2018, two days after Dad told us his doctor said cancer had returned and was terminal. Given six months from onset (probably October) to live, the old man lasted more than nine. He passed away on Aug. 5, 2019, at age 74. It’s been two days since
Twelve Days of Christmas, Part VI: The day Dad told us he had six months to live Read More »
Happy birthday, Dad. You would have been 75 on Saturday. I know that was an important number to you. A few months after we discovered that you had terminal cancer, you targeted Nov. 2 as a day you’d like to reach and celebrate No. 75. For a few months, it looked like that was a
Webb: Happy 75th birthday, Dad Read More »
