Never once could my father say that he was proud of me. Not once. I graduated from high school. I served in the Marines in Vietnam. I graduated from college. Not once, even when he was dying, he just could not bring himself to say that he was proud of me. He would praise my cousins and it was difficult for me to witness. I am old now and will forever miss my father. He was a good man. I came along 4 years after my brother and possibly there is a connection. The unwanted (and unloved) baby. I wanted what Shimmy has. That closeness. My dad never asked me about my experiences in Vietnam, not what it was like in boot camp. He didn't ask about my college experience. The fraternity, the co-eds, the classes. Small wonder I never went back home much. i was looking for something that would never present itself.
