It's only memories now and I often wish I wasn't a harebrained teenager and we didn't brawl so much when he kicked it, but as adulthood solidifies and manhood translates to more than just a penis, I find that the greatest ode I could ever pay to the one who I called father is to live every day of the given life propagating the values he instilled - through word and action - in the short time we shared on this plane.

Values of unshakable self-belief, devotion to family, honest living, love for learning and desire for self-improvement, deep self-respect and staunch pride.

No, I do not love the man, what I feel is something deeper: a respect that couldn't be bought, but which was commanded and so is impossible to lose. And until the day when I draw own final breath, I carry uncompromisingly on in tribute to incomparable Dan.

HFD