Happy Father's Day, Dad!

Dad, me, and Mookie, 1984 (I think)

One of my favorite childhood memories is going to the arcade with my dad and brother.  Dad would load us up with quarters, and we'd disperse to play our games of choice.  I headed toward the driving games, Bro to the fighting games (he was kind of an angsty kid), and Dad liked the adventure games...which also involved fighting, too, I guess.  Then, we'd reconvene and take on group games, like X-men, together.  I would be Storm, Dad was Cyclops, and Bro was Wolverine Colossus. (Quoth the brother: "I was totally always Colossus in the X-Men game. He is way more awesome than Wolverine.") Trips like these were a great bonding experience and also, I'd like to think, gave me some serious nerd cred later in life.

I'm a lot like my dad.  I look just like my mom, but my personality is more like my dad's.

• I don't mind public speaking and in fact kind of like the attention. (My dad's a pastor, so obviously public speaking is part of his job.)
• I love language.  While he's nearly fluent in Latvian and also knows a few phrases in a bunch of other languages, I love the French language.  Unfortunately, I'm not fluent, but I'm not a big traveler (fear of flying being the main reason for this), so I don't really need to be.  But I can conjugate a verb like nobody's business.  In English or French.
• I'm good at arguing.  Before he was a pastor, my dad was a lawyer for many years.  I don't have the ambition or the intelligence he does to take on higher education, so I'll just stick with my bachelor's degree.
• I have a temper.  This is the most obvious similarity between the two of us, for people who know us.  He takes it out by punching or kicking in walls, and I throw things.  Or shout obscenities, which I really need to curb ASAP.
• I'm good at a lot of things, but not particularly great at anything.  I don't mean this to be a dis to my dad, but take sports for example.  I've done soccer, softball, swimming, jazz/gymnastics, basketball, volleyball, tennis recreationally, and shotput and discus (my dad was my coach for one year); and I was pretty decent at all of it but never anywhere near the best.  But I like to be versatile and know a little about a lot of things.

I'm also not sappy, so I'm just gonna end with, Dad, Coach, thanks for always being there and have a great Father's Day.   (Also, safe travels tomorrow and have a fun sabbatical.  Are sabbaticals supposed to be fun?  I have no idea.)

Love,

Boogins

Walking me down the aisle, 2009