Dad

My sister was visiting with a high school friend who told her a story about my dad. Twenty-something years ago, the friend invited my dad to speak at her high school. She asked him to talk about being successful in business. He came, he spoke, she was thoroughly disappointed. She said with a smile, "We all wanted him to talk about making a lot of money. But all he talked about was INTEGRITY!" I think that's my dad all summed up. My sister isn't sure she's going to tell him that story. She isn't sure how he'd react. I hope she tells him.

Second dad story. Last night we were down at his house in Laguna and he was talking to Emily about a friend, Dan, who works at the D.C. zoo in the birds section. Dad said that he wanted my cousin, Jimmy, to bring his kids to the zoo for an insider tour of the bird area. Then he said, "They can see the pandas! Pandas are a type of bird, aren't they?" Emily started laughing hysterically, and said, "You're kidding, right?" And he said, "No"! Then he paused and said, "Oh. I meant penguins..." Which is even more hysterical - that after watching "March of the Penguins," he needed confirmation that the penguins were indeed birds. I love my dad.