For My Dad

The only photo I have of us together on the day you married my Mom is this one, with you in the background. I've carried it in my wallet for thirty years, and here's why:

You're brave. I can't imagine what it must have been like for a middle-aged lifelong bachelor to take on not only a wife but an instant family of five kids. You never complained, not once, not even when a certain damaged, hostile teenager did her worst to aggravate you.

You're a self-made man. Because you never had the cha...