March 5, 2009 was the first anniversary of my father's death. I brought flowers to his grave. It was such a beautiful day. I thought about how difficult his life was and how his generosity seemed to have no end. He was a single father with 3 ungrateful kids. We never went hungry. We always had clothes to wear and a roof over our heads.
I remembered all the friends that he had and how we couldn't go anywhere without running into at least a handful of people who knew him. As a matter of fact, I finally went to the bank to close his account and the teller greeted me with, "Eh! How's your dad?" She knew him since he had done his banking at the McCully branch 20 years ago. Now all the way in Kapolei, she still remembers his gregarious personality. I'll probably meet another person like him but he'll continue to inspire me.
I feel the most fortunate because I feel like I knew him so well. Even after I got married and moved away, I still stayed at his apartment before I had Joseph. It felt like a sleepover. He still spoiled me and made such a fuss over me. At night, he'd come in to my room and make sure the blanket was still over my legs. He made my favorite foods and made sure that I had everything that I wanted. I still remember the smell of the apartment, the sheets, and the bathroom. Everything smelled so clean and safe.
He was a really great cook, too. He made the BEST shoyu chicken, Portuguese bean soup, and chili. My other favorites were his fried rice, hot dogs, chow mein, chow fun, chicken long rice... actually, I could go on and on. He was an amazing cook.
My dad was awesome! I'm lucky to have been able to spend so much time with him.
