Badass.

The other day my mom told me that Dad was mad at Grandma. (This is an ongoing source of comedy for me and nothing new.) Mom said it was because she wouldn’t get him what he wanted for Father’s Day. I was sort of stumped about what to get him myself, so I called him.

“Well, what did you want?” I asked.

“Money.”

“Money! Money for what?”

“For this charity that helps children of Marines,” he said. “If a Marine dies on duty, they’ll pay for the kid’s college, or health care if the kid needs it.”

“Well, that’s really sweet,” I said, fighting back tears in my cubicle.

“I just figured… your brother used to be a Marine, and now he’s going to have a daughter, so it felt like the right one. I thought we could give money to that.”

“Dad, I love you. That’s so awesome. I’ll donate money if you want, but I’m still taking you out to lunch. What’s Grandma getting you instead?”

“Steaks.” He paused, which meant he was rolling his eyes and sadly shaking his head. “She’s giving me a bunch of those steaks again. Psh.”

When I even think about how much I love my dad, I start crying… so there’s no way I could sum it up here. But this is one reason why.

This – long sidenote – is also why I never call super-religious Republicans “crazy” or “retarded” or generalize them with any other names that us non-judgmental liberals like to use when describing them. And this is why I defend them sometimes, even when I totally agree with you.

Because while some Conservative Christians certainly are cuckoo, there’s also a batch of folks like my dad… a guy who bitches about getting a dozen fancy steaks when he could be giving money to charity. Obviously, you don’t have to be Christian to have a heart like that… but last year during his triple bypass, he lost even more of his vision and is almost totally blind. And on a day when he gets spoiled rotten and can basically request anything he wants – something he totally deserves after fighting so hard to stay alive and losing something so important and unexpected in the process – all he wants to help a bunch of children he’ll never meet.

So while he may listen to you-know-what and will debate me about basically every issue until I go nuts … he also throws me these WWJD curveballs that most people aren’t capable of pulling off. My dad makes me want to be a better person. And also, the fact that he’s still here and is so sharp and handles all his struggles with a smile and a joke… well, that’s proof that there is a God, at least to me.

But just in case you hate Republicans that much and need further proof that he’s not totally lame, here he is with a black eye and a gun, surrounded by angels:

My dad is a total badass.

Happy Father’s Day!!!

P.S. Speaking of charities, the Wolfner Library recently updated their technology and would love any of your old flash drives that you have lying around. Wolfner Library distributes books on tape to blind people. My dad has been getting their cassettes in the mail for over a decade (CDs and DVDs aren’t tangible enough for people with limited vision). The new media is pretty cool and is very easy for them to use. Plus, I’m sure those flash drives aren’t biodegradable. Please send them in, or give them to me to send!