I’ve been blessed with
wonderful parents, both of whom I deeply admire. I wrote about my Mom on a Mother’s Day blog
and now that Father’s Day has rolled around, I’d like to take a moment to tell
you about my Dad.
My dad’s name is Gary
and he is a man of many talents. He has
two true loves: my Mother and
baseball. Since he was a small child, my
dad has been playing baseball and fully believes that baseball is a game that is meant to be played every day. As a lefty, he was a star player on his
little league team and went on to shine through high school ball and into
college. He played for the Missouri
Tigers Baseball team in the early 1960’s when they went to the World Series
every year and won several state championships.
Much to many people’s surprise, instead of accepting a recruitment offer
from a minor league team, my Dad decided to finish Veterinary school; but his
love of baseball remained. 
Taking a sabbatical from
baseball, Gary and his wife started a family, bought a home in St. Louis, began a Veterinary Practice and opened a frozen custard restaurant; but baseball beckoned him. He finally answered the call by becoming a batting practice pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, a position he has held for the past thirty years… a position that has enabled him to talk baseball and rub elbows with some of the most talented players to ever take the field. He even got to meet actor Tom Selleck when he was shooting the movie, Mr. Baseball, in which a scene was shot at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. In 2008, he was inducted into the St. Louis Baseball Hall of Fame.
My Dad has many
accolades; more than one blog can cover.
Hailed as one of the best veterinary
surgeons in the state, there were
countless clients sad to see my Dad retire.
A model/actor, who has filmed several commercials and feature films,
i.e. Up in the Air with George Clooney. A Business Owner. Veterinarian. Pitcher.
Hunter. Coach. Wine Enthusiast. The list goes on and on; but those aren’t his
most valuable assets.
He’s one of the
most giving people you’ll ever meet. He’ll
go out of his way to help anyone. If you were to define going the extra mile,
his picture would be definition enough.
He loves deeply and puts that love into constant action, especially with
his wife, his kids and his grandkids. To
them, he’s Papa (pronounced Paw-Paw) and he’s the best Papa in the world.
He’s comical, creative,
smart, athletic and offers great advice.
In the face of something troubling, he’ll tell you not to worry because “you’ll
get your ticket when you get to the station.”
And he’s right. In the hour of despair
he’ll remind you not to “sweat the small stuff, and that it’s all small stuff.” And when you think you won’t recover from an
embarrassing moment, he’s there to put it all in perspective with the words, “millions
of Chinese don’t know and don’t give a damn.”
If I’ve learned
anything from my Dad, and I’ve learned a lot…it would be that family matters,
blood is thicker than water, and God isn’t always found in a church building;
but rather in the one-on-one walks with Him through the woods, the fields and
on the mountain tops.
