California Dreamin 7

In College, I used to love to listen to Dan Fogelberg. But one song always stuck out to me because it seemed to be written about my dad. It was called "Leader of the Band." The song is about a guy who is a cabinet maker's son, who goes his own way and becomes a musician. That too is my dad's history. His Great Grandfather, Grandfather, Father, and Uncles were all cabinet makers. His Great Grandfather worked in the old Manor Houses in England. His Grandfather did the internal woodwork on the Titanic. His Father was the first to come to the US from Ireland, and he made custom furniture for the likes if Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Phyllis Diller, Fred McMurray, and many others. My parents whole house is made up of his furniture, that will someday be mine.

But, Dad was always the musician. He began playing the clarinet in elementary school. He played in the Police Boys' Band in Pasadena, was always first chair in school bands, was in the Navy Band and played in the Honolulu Symphony during WWll, and came back to be first chair in the USC band. But he always chose to be the music educator. He could have played in professional Symphonies, but he chose to be an educator. He could have taken his bands to all the huge parade competitions, but he chose not to, because he didn't want to be away from his family every weekend.

But, back to the song. There is a line in the song, "Leader of the Band" that says, "He had a gentle means of sculpting souls that took me years to understand," that so describes this man, who I am honored to call my dad. He was the teacher who would stay after school to talk to a student having problems at home. It was so much more important to him to teach to the person, not just notes on the page. He was the Mr. Holland's Opus, in many ways. At the 20th reunion for the class of 75 at the High School where he taught, he had many students who came up and introduced their husbands and wives to him, prefaced with, "This is the man I have told you about for years." That night, he learned about a girl whose parents were going through a bitter divorce, who was going to take her own life, but something my dad said changed her mind. He learned about another young man, whose family never supported him, who went on to become a great dad, very involved with his kids, because of my dad's influence.

He never made a huge amount of money. He never became famous, but because of his gentle means of sculpting Souls, he has left an impact on more than my family. And he didn't sculpt souls by long speeches, or lessons, but by who he is. His laughter, his smile, his loving nature, the gentleness in his eyes. He is retired, and still teaching private lessons to young people. And the best part is the information he gives them, not through words, but through his gentle spirit, that will have an impact of these people. It may take them years to recognize it, but it is there all the same.

So, on this Father's day, I solute this man. I will say here what I told him this morning, "If I could clone you, I would."