This is Michael.  I'm not sure if you can see things like this from where you are in heaven.  If you can, there's a few things I would like to share.  If you can't, well ... I'm also making this page for my children and grandchildren.  I want them to know their grandfather that they never had the chance to meet here on earth -- and I thought this would be better and more accessible than photos tucked away in an album in the bottom of a closet.

Dad, you were a wonderful father to me.  I never doubted that you loved me.  Even when I made you upset or you gave me one of your famous lectures, I always knew you loved me.  No other human being on earth has influenced me more than you did.  You taught me so many things, that I cannot name them all here, but here are a few of them:

• Things worth doing are worth doing right.
• There is a proper tool for the proper job.
• It's a good thing to help a stranger in need, and then refuse any payment for it.
• There will always be someone faster than you, no matter what you're doing.

Dad, I have so many good memories of you.  You taught me to ride a bike, to waterski, to snowmobile, to hunt, to fish, to ride a mini-bike, and later a motorcycle.  You taught me to drive a car.  You taught me how to shoot pool (which I still enjoy).  You taught me how to treat a girl on a date.  Plus you taught me the value of a strong work ethic.  For these and many more things, I am so thankful you were my dad.

Another fond memory of you is when I was a child and I got sick.  You were always there to rub my back for me.  That comfort during my times of illness so comforted me.  It reminds me now that during times of pain of a variety of sorts, that my heavenly Father is with me too.  So, when my children got sick, I always tried to be there for them in the same way - rubbing their backs for them.

I'm glad I was able to tell you (a couple years before you died), that I was thankful that you did NOT buy me a car when I turned 16 years old.  Even though I knew you could afford it, you said "you'll learn to appreciate and respect a vehicle you pay for with your own money, knowing you have to pay for your own insurance, gas, oil, tires, and maintenance."  You were right.  You were kind enough to work on my cars for me, and I was always thankful to have the best auto mechanic on earth help me -- my Dad.

You went to heaven over two decades ago, but I have never stopped missing you Dad.  I so wish my children could have known you too.  You were always and you remain My Hero.

I love you Dad,
Your son Michael