Happy Birthday Dad

by, Cheryl Harwell Bailey

I grew up in a nuclear family, in more ways than one.
 Mom, Dad, and 3 kids in the California sun.

 All my friends adored my young parents, 
except potential boyfriends.
 They liked me until they beheld their “tombstone”
 in Dr. Dad’s glare down at "The Okie Corral."
 They never recovered, or came back, except for
 the brave hearted Randall, willing to die for the cause.

Ask anyone who knows Dad, and they will tell you he’s a tough guy. 
 But he is tender too. Even though he is getting older in years. 
He is who he is. Loyal, Patriotic, Generous,
 Brave, Brilliant, Hopeful, Genuine and Just.

As a daughter, I have never been more proud of my Dad.
 The past few years have shown me the depth of who he truly is.
 With my Mom, he has shown us all the meaning of true love.
 A constant companion providing for her every need. 
 She was his only focus, as it should be.

I have seen Dad’s courage
 when machine-gunned "Abu Sayyaf" terrorist kept him in their sights,
 as he preached in the Mindanao jungles of the Philippines. 
When he and Mom traversed humid waters in canoes
 to places where white skin had never been seen. 
 Courage as he broke wild horse’s when no other cowboy could. 
Courage as he stayed on the bull 8 seconds at the rodeos.
But I have never seen him more courageous
 as when he cared for his “Bride," my mother,
 before she made heaven her home.