Today is Father's Day. But because I have no father or children, I can't celebrate this day. Dad was born on October 18, 1947 and died on July 13, 2013 at the age of sixty-five. When I saw Dad in his casket, it brought tears to my eyes and made me feel sad. But it didn't make me feel any worse than I was already feeling. Mom died just four months earlier and I was already feeling terrible.

Dad was a good provider. He didn't earn a lot of money but he was a hard worker, and provided for my brother and I and Mom. Because Dad dropped out of school in the 6th or 7th grade, he could only have a manual labor job. Sadly, Dad was obsessed with making money. He once had a get rich quick scheme, but it was doomed to fail.

In 1985, he and a man named Albert started a business. Albert supplied the buildings and property for the business. Dad made a deal with Albert that I wouldn't have made. Albert bought the equipment that was needed to run the business. Dad agreed to pay Albert back in full for the equipment, but Albert would be half owner of the equipment even though Dad would've paid the full price. That was the only way that Dad could convince Albert to pay the money upfront. Albert told Dad upfront that because he was getting older, he couldn't do any of the work. Albert ended up owning all of the equipment because the business failed.

Dad should've known that the business would fail but sadly, he didn't. Dad was already working a full time job and could only devote a few hours each day to run his business. He also had no employees to do any of the work. Sadly, the business failed miserably.

Because money was so important to Dad, he could've gotten a higher paying job, but wasn't willing to do what it would take to be able to do so. Dad should've gotten a GED or high school diploma and then he should've started taking night classes. If Dad would've gotten a college education, he might not have gotten rich, but he certainly would've been able to get a higher paying job.

As I said, Dad was a good provider. I didn't care how much money he earned, but he did care. He wanted to be rich. I just wish that Dad could've seen that money isn't everything. After taking chemotherapy for months, Dad succumbed to Leukemia. May he Rest in Peace.

[Dedicated to Charles F. Johnson (1947-2013) who died on July 13, 2013]