Father's Day...

Pondering Father's Day, and so many thoughts and memories that provokes.  My father is 3,000 miles away today, in Virginia where he and my mom now live.  The accompaniments of old age are upon him – he's hard of hearing (making telephone calls difficult), his vision is weak, he can no longer walk very far, and anything other than local travel is more than he can handle.  But though he's very different than when he was younger, he's still my father – and I wish I could be with him today, on this his day.  Or any other day, for that matter...

The photo at right is one I took five years ago, in July 2005 when he and I were on one of our many trips together.  On this trip we were in the San Juan mountains of south-central Colorado.  At that time he could still walk a mile or so without too much trouble, even at the high altitudes we visited.  We four-wheeled all over those mountains in our trusty 1996 Toyota LandCruiser – a vehicle we still own, and still use for such trips.  Now that my father can no longer make such trips with me, the memories of them are all the more precious...

Happy Father's Day, dad!  I hope your memories are as happy, and as comforting, as mine...