The Zac Brown
Band has a great song out, called “My Old Man.” It really resonates with me and
brings back a flood of memories of my “Old Man.”
As a child, I
looked up to my Dad. I sometimes wished I had an older brother to teach me the
ropes. But the reality is my Dad prepared me for the challenges that lay ahead.
He’s still teaching me.
I’ve always
appreciated what he did for my brother and me. Baseball was everything to us
growing up. I can still smell the oil we applied to our leather baseball gloves
before sticking a baseball inside and wrapping them with one of my Dad’s old
belts. That was how we would break in new gloves, especially catcher’s mitts,
for the new season. Who else teaches you that, but your father?
I can picture my
Dad in the garage, spray-painting batting helmets, then stuffing them into the
green Army duffle bags that held our equipment. When All-Stars came around, he
produced majestic helmets with and with “NVLL” on the front – for North Valley
Little League. We didn’t have the resources of other leagues, but my Dad made
sure we were proud to represent NVLL when we stepped onto the field.
I can’t imagine
how many hours he spent at those little league fields, which sadly, no longer
exist. He would tie a piece of chain-link fencing to the back of his white Ford
pickup and drag it across the dirt on the fields. He did this every single
night after games finished. Many nights and especially on Saturday’s, he and
some other Dads parked their pickups beyond left field. They had their coolers
full of beer to reward their hard work. Even after playing full games, and
after dusk had settled in, my friends and I would play Homerun Derby, and make
my Dad throw balls back into the field. More often than not, my Mom would have
to come and pick us up.
My Dad worked
most of his career Downtown, ironically, across the street from where I am
working now. He usually took the bus to work along 4th Street from
our home in Los Ranchos. He also traveled a lot, mostly driving throughout New
Mexico, helping small, rural communities get infrastructure for water and
wastewater. He still travels those roads, working part-time for an engineering
firm. I bet there isn’t a community he hasn’t visited, and a diner he hasn’t
frequented. Whenever I go somewhere for the first time, I usually check with
him to ask about the best place to eat.
Although I’m not
sure my Dad will ever fully retire, he has slowed down, and has taken the time
to appreciate his five grandchildren. I feel bad because I know one of the
reasons he still works is so he can spoil those grandchildren. I’ve never had a
problem with that because he loves spending time with them, and he has devoted
his life to providing for his family.
I hope Dad knows
I’ve learned many lessons from him. I’m still learning. The most important
lesson is pass on what I’ve learned to my own children.
As the Zac Brown
song reminds me: “I hope he’s proud of who I am. I’m trying to fill the boots
of my old man.”
