the DAD

wow, a few more days and he's turning 75...

the road to his diamond year had so many exciting turns...not because i'm his daughter that i'm saying this but i know for sure that dad is one hell-of-a-guy, even on his own merits...i've witnessed how people around him always gave out their best to earn his approval and subsequently his respect...if there was anyone i am in awe with, past and present, the very first on my list would be dad...he has this major effect on people, a powerful but very subtle positive strength that would draw them to him, toddlers included...as far back as i can remember, he was like 'the don' from whom people wanted advise, counseling, words of wisdom or whatever one wants to call it - he was practically 'the source'...

he is the quiet type...when we were growing up, he taught us how to listen well...he once said a person will not learn anything unless he listens well...he has this amazing self-control that i rarely see amongst the top brass - he is definitely a class of his own...

he had his heydey in sports (he was good in basketball, volleyball, swimming, pelota, tennis, bowling, badminton - heck i think he played almost everything and became quite an influence in trying to convince us, his 'tres marias' to choose a sport we would be comfortable with along the way - i still wonder if it were different had there been a son)...i chose volleyball when i was in the 6th grade, when the highschool varsity coach - whom we called "Papa Brown" (picture: James Earl Jones in his early forties, honest! the coach really looked like him) - started scouting for recruits and being tall & thin, i was invited to try out...it was dad who was more excited about that invitation, even moreso when i made it to the varsity team during the summer training prior to entering 1st year HS, and subsequently became capt ball later...you bet he was there in almost all my games for the entire 4 years! it was a relief for me when he was assigned by his company to another city when i again made it to the varsity team in college, making it impossible for him to continue watching - it was a bit awkward for a 16 yr old to have a parent on the sidelines, and drive away prospective suitors right? :-) nevertheless, he became 'daddy groovy' to his peers...'daddy gene' to our friends...and somewhere along his mid-forties he became 'james coburn' to his business associates due to his signature salt & pepper hair...

he was, and still is, very particular with the food he eats...i remember him getting satisfied with his food ONLY if it was mom who cooked it, or my grandmother, or if it was from a well-established restaurant or hotel...i remember him always dragging the entire family to lunches or dinners at gourmet restaurants, and there would be a non-stop food review between him and mom on the way home...on the other hand, mom, being a natural in the kitchen and knowing his exact preference and taste, would be challenged to experiment back home and subsequently outdo the gourmet dishes we've tasted, which then became reasons for lots of hosted lunches or dinners at home...our home, which has become a refuge for anyone who loves good food - relatives from both sides, his officemates, our friends - the house never ran out of guests except for very rare times...when MOM passed away in 2001, it was a major concern from everyone who knows the family - who will cook his food - that was the common question thrown at us in whispers during her wake...it was indeed a difficult challenge the 3 of us daughters had to face...

on jan 24, he's turning 75...we will only be doing a simple dinner inviting his only brother with his family, and also to celebrate mom's 65th birthday on feb 7...i bet that double celebration on the 24th and 25th will surely give him a blast...an exciting get-together fit for two endearing individuals so close to our hearts...