World's Greatest Dad

Saturday, June 17, 2006

I Have a Genius for a Dad


As a little girl, I would often go in search of my Dad... I always knew exactly where he'd be. Down in the basement, tucked away behind food storage, was a room full of strange and wonderful stuff: rainbow-colored electrical wires, boxes of mysteriously expired equipment, a lightbox that blinked to Close Encounters of the Third Kind, rows and rows of tiny plastic drawers filled with nuts and bolts, old amplifiers and ancient reel-to-reel machines, a sturdy wooden workbench full of tools, soldering guns, and engravers... It was a genius' playground. I was always welcome there, always invited to pull up a vinyl-cushioned stool and make something of my own.
To this day I can remember that wonderful solder smell that would tell me that Dad was making something hi-tech and magical! Often I'd also catch a whiff of Gojo, too, which would tell me Dad just made some modifications on our big family vehicle to make it the safest car on the road.
We were the first people on the block, maybe in the whole world, who could push a button in our kitchen and watch our garage door in the backyard go up and down. We skated in our backyard on a smooth, ingeniusly well-constructed ice rink. Even though I wasn't much interested in science. Dad would help me find some magical gizmo for the Science Fair that I could get into, like a big fat prism that would make a brilliant rainbow.
Whenever my toys would break, it was just no problem. In fact, as I grew up, it was a bit difficult moving away from home and losing the comfort that everything I own could be repaired by Dad. I remember being a grown college student and being irked at a string of Christmas Lights that were broken. I threw them into my suitcase thinking, Dad can fix those! It wasn't until I was a little more mature and had a home of my own that I truly realized the exquisite, useful talent that my Dad has.
While Dad's mechanical genius left such an impression on me, so did his strong spirituality. Many of his incredible, even supernatural stories and memories shaped my childhood. His alien sighting made me know that there is more that just Me in the Universe, and his being hit by a meteor told me that God touches us and knows us by name. He was once saved from electricution by a spiritual warning, and this made me know that God is real and full of tender mercies if we listen to Him. My testimony was kindled by my parents until I was able to keep my own fire burning, and I will always be grateful!
In short, I have a genius for a Dad. I would say that I'm pretty much the luckiest kid in the world, but I know of 9 others who could say that, too!
Love, Janis

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