Thanks Mud,

My dad is a great guy and he was/is a great role model for me. While not a bigperson in statureat only 5'6" (I must get my size from my moms side.....or the milk man) he is larger than life. He has been through it all and seen it all. He was born in 1929 and grew up in the depression, he had nothing....nothing, his dad left when he was 2 and his mom died when he was 9. He grew up on the south side of Chicago and lived at a privately fundedall boys military school for underpriviligedkids, most from broken home families. He didn't finish highschool till he was 21 years old because he worked half a day on the school's farm. After he left he attended college but was called to service in 1950. After returning from the war he finished school and worked as an engineer for a few years.

He then went back to the school, this time to work and to give back to the place that had essentially saved his life from one on the streets. He started as a drill instructor, camp director and coach of several of the school's sports teams. He eventuallymoved up to director of student activities. He retired this year after 50 years of service to the school and having been at the school for all but about 15 years of his entire life! He has touched the lives of so many kidsit's impossible to even keep track of them but he would remember (and still does) every one. When I was youngerstill living at home we would get visitors quite often from ex students asking for him just to say hello and thanks. You could always tell the older ones as they would ask if "Sarge" was home.

Upon retiring word got out of his life and he was honored on the floor of the US House of Representatives with a speech from an Illinois Representative. The speech is part of the Congressional Recordof the 109th Congress Second Session and will forever be archived. I can't even begin to tell you how proud of him I amor howlucky I am to have him as a father. My mom and he never missed a game when I was in highschool,college or the NFL. They bothwere great role models formyself and my two older brothers throught our lives and still are even to this day. He was strict when he had to be but would give you the shirt off of his back.....he's that kind of man.

I love to listen to his stories even if I have heard them before, the things he has done and seen are just incredible and I will never grow tired of them.

Well I have officially hi-jacked this thread and I apologize.