he died not much older than I am now. He never set foot outside of this country except for a day trip in Windsor Ontario in 1976, and then only for a few hours.

There are a lot of things I can say today, and all of them will be understood by men who had fathers who were- as John Wayne said- “Feo, Fuerte, Y formal” or “Ugly, Strong, and with Dignity”.

The only ones that matter, anyway, to me, are “Thanks, Dad.” For years I have missed your presence in my life, missed having you here to help me when i needed your wisdom, but today, I can honestly say, you gave me the greatest education you could have given me: To learn how to figure it out on my own.