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 F o r e w o r d

 

The following is my Dad's account of the environment and experiences that produced the unique people that he and his brothers came to be.

 

I am an unbiased expert on only one of the brothers, i.e. Dennis.  He married my Mother, June, when they were about 30 years of age and I was about 9.  They only knew each other for a few weeks when they decided to tie the knot.  We all drove to Carson City, Nevada from our apartment in Pacific Grove, California.  We made the round trip in less than 24 hours.  They were married 5/23/54.  This was the beginning of a union that lasted until my Mother's death on 3/30/94, 40 years later.

 

The years they had together were punctuated by financial difficulties in the early days and then were intruded on by my Mom's physical condition for the last 35 years.  She contracted MS at the age of 35.  It was the slow but ever-worsening variety.  This particular catastrophe showed what they were both made of, i.e., purest gold. 

 

Though not always "politically correct", my Dad was, and is, intrinsically correct.  He has noble principles and lives by them.  Psalms 127:2 says "...he (God) grants sleep to those he loves."  My Dad has a clear conscience and has no trouble getting a good night's sleep.

 

I had the good fortune to work with my Dad at one of the several gas stations he owned/operated.  We spent many hours together through my teen years and I was able to observe the tremendous range of knowledge, skill, and curiosity he possessed.  He was a wizard at electronics and mechanical things and, in my opinion, could have made Chemistry a profession as well.  He taught me much of the Electronics theory that has been the mainstay of my career and during my college days he set me on the right track many times as I struggled with the two chemistry classes I took.  I owe, in good measure, the A's I got to his expert coaching.  He seemed to have total recall of facts he'd learned many years before. 

 

It's somewhat fashionable these days to find fault with one's parents and to blame one's own shortcomings on one's upbringing.  For some people this may be justified, but in my case I have no such excuses. Both my parents demonstrated a high standard and made it easy for me to keep the 5th Commandment.

 

What follows are my Dad's memories.  I feel particularly fortunate to know and to LOVE the author.

 

Michael D. Fahey

Half Moon Bay, California

June  1995

 

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