Dad was always there for me, even when I was missing him in college, and would call to talk late at night. He always had a lot of humor and patience in teaching me difficult things, like calculus (argh). But he never gave up. I remember when we went to Salt Point to go diving - I was in high school and had decided that I wanted to learn to snorkel so I could go abalone diving with the guys. He went with me to rent a suit and equipment, and the day came when the ocean was just calm enough to take me on a training dive. We headed out into the ocean, and my fear kicked in big time. I couldn't see the bottom because the water was so rough. At some point, he disappeared and I started to panic. Then, from the murky depths I saw something dark and large coming right up at me! I turned around and swam back to shore in a hurry, and wouldn't go back in. Dad came out of the water a little while later, laughing hysterically. "I was just coming up to take you down and show you something on the bottom!" he laughed. "You shot off so fast I couldn't catch up with you! I've never seen anyone swim so fast!" I was a little teary eyed but he got me to laugh about it, and we went and changed into our regular clothes, and went fishing instead. I don't think I'll ever live that down! But it's a fond memory. Dad always lived with integrity and loved me as I was, and I will cherish that always. That, and the endless supply of corny jokes! Miss you, Daddy-o.