A Tribute to my dad, my hero! Happy Fathers Day!

A Veterans of 2 wars… WW2 and LIFE! They say Old Soldiers never die, they simply fade away. I say old heroes neither die nor fade. They live on through the legacy they leave in all of the lives they so powerfully impact.
Dad is my true hero! His impact will never die nor fade. It resonates in his offspring, from sons to great grand children, to great-great grand children… musicians, missionaries, ministers, medical scientists, writers, lovers of animals and nature, corporate leaders, athletes, shifters and shakers, all pressing on to their calling to be heroes after the kind that has set this glorious pace for extraordinary living.
Fond memories go into the making of these future heroes… stern coaching and disciplining of wild youthful hearts, Sunday afternoon drives to not too distant water holes where the water was cooler and deeper than the local swimming pool and not as crowded. Home cooked Sunday dinners (the roast lamb and gravy live on happily on our Texas Sunday table) with the best of friends, sometimes on the banks of a cool glass smooth lake, often followed by the thrills of a Watermelon fight. 

Of proudly enduring hard pews listening in amazement as he shared those wonderful words of LIFE, always reaching out like a lifeline to some drowning soul. Never without purpose. Never without calling for the verdict!

Of overnight drives to the favorite spots in the whole world, where wild waves crash and big fish bite on stinky rockbait attached to rigs of homemade lead sinkers.

Of pre dawn excursions down the rocky crags to just the right spot in the East flowing Kie River to yank out a few giant pallang (eel) on a homemade “bob”, no hook needed! And then squeal with disgust at the quivering white filleted flesh as the salt teases the not quite dead nerves.

Of returning from a long days adventure to the snug, cozy little homestead of my hero’s heroes to the indescribable aromatic cloud left by the “famous” Nanny Goetsch cookies (that live on in every Goetsch household to this day) and prepared with a hot cup of tea in hand to listen to the never-ending adventures of my hero’s service to his family and his country, and how that incredible journey led him to be a warrior of Faith in a different army with a greater mission.
Always acknowledging his weaknesses while holding fast to grace, this imperfect hero will not have to wait for some distant moment for his final recognition and crowning… wherever he has walked if I’m still enough I see his crowns at His Saviors feet and hear Him saying, “well done, well done, well done! You have entered into My Joy”
We journey on with him in joyful celebration anticipation of that day when he will meet his Super Hero face to face and the will see Him as He is, and dad will look just like Him!
I love you dad! Happy Father’s day!