Happy Birthday Dad

A post from my brother David

Dad and Stevie at the shop in W. Palm Beach. (check out the bottom right corner)

A lasting memory of my Dad:
If you've ever taken your shoes to a shoe repair shop you know their interpretation of time is quite different from your own. Tomorrow doesn't always mean, the very next day ...

April 1980, prior to my deployment to Korea, I left a pair of shoes for my Dad to fix with the understanding that he would mail them to Korea when the repair work was finished. Upon my return, a year and a half later, I asked my dad about my shoes. He looked around the shop and found them under a pile of leather, and with a sincere look on his face said," 5 minutes, they'll be ready in 5 minutes."

Dad was a practical man, who withheld judgment of others, and considered you a friend upon first introduction. He viewed life in terms that made complete sense to him. There was right or wrong, good or bad, black or white, with very little room for gray. Hard work was the order of the day, and feeling too sick to work was not entertained. He was a product of the Great Depression, and deeply rooted family values, which resulted in a personal constitution that pointed his moral compass in the right direction. I don't think Dad could ever have accurately predicted the success of his sandals.

Dad passed away in 1989, and is sorely missed.

Happy Birthday Dad.

David Bonanno