Cal.E.'s Korner

 "As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters."- Seneca.

d.: I had a silly blog post in my head and was about to put it down on paper when I learned that my father had passed away. This wasn’t a shock to anyone in my family. My dad probably lived ten to twenty years longer than his doctors thought he would. My whole family was shocked that he lived more than a year after my mother passed. He was very dependent on her for a lot of things, but my dad was a tough man.

Being raised on a farm during the depression, my dad knew the value of hard work, and he passed that value along to all four of his children and his grandchildren. Since he lived to be ninety-seven and eight months, my dad also so some of his great grandchildren being born, something that a lot of people don’t have the opportunity to do.

As I said about my mother when she died, my father had both a long life and a good life. I believe he holds the distinction of having the longest lifespan of any male in his family. He may have even outlived all the women who were related to him.

My dad did his best to set a good example for his children, but he wasn’t infallible; no human is. He was good with numbers, which led him to decide to become an engineer. He also liked farm life, so he decided to use his time to increase his cattle heard when he retired from his engineering job.

My father was a quiet man, except when he was singing. He had a strong and very melodic voice for someone who had never been trained to sing or to read music. He enjoyed singing hymns and his voice could usually be heard when he sang, if not always when he talked.

I will miss my dad, but I am glad that he will finally be able to be with my mom. They were married for almost seventy years. He never took off his wedding band, even after my mom passed. She was a part of him, and he was a part of her. I am glad that I was able to witness a strong marriage between two Christian people. That has had a positive influence on my marriage. Rest in peace, Herbert George Miller, Junior. You have earned your eternal rest.