He said son hold it still
Keep that beam shining straight
He’d have a 9/16ths in one hand 
Working on that Chevrolet
It seemed like every Saturday
Soon as the sun went down
We’d be huddled underneath that hood
Tinkering around 
And of all of the great memories I’ve had
The best ones are those nights just me and my dad

He’ll never how much he taught me 
Out in that garage 
And I guess the stuff that stuck 
Was more about life than fixing cars
Cause to this day I still can’t make them run right
But I sure did learn a lot
Just holding the flashlight

He told me a lot of stories 
About Grandpa and the war
While he was trying to show me 
What a carburator’s for
I learned a couple cuss words 
When he skinned his knuckles up
And I found out Momma was the only girl
He ever really loved 
Then I asked him about women, he just laughed
Said if we stayed out here all year
We wouldn’t have time enough for that

He’ll never how much he taught me 
Out in that garage 
And I guess the stuff that stuck 
Was more about life than fixing cars
Cause to this day I still can’t make them run right
But I sure did learn a lot
Just holding the flashlight

And to this day I still can’t make them run right
But deep inside I know that it’s alright
Cause I sure 
Just holding the flashlight

Thanks Dad

Its funny how in a year you can change so much. Who knew that a month and some days after taking this photo everything would change. We didn’t know while walking in Williams that you had something growing inside of you that would take away your life and change all of ours. I never knew that I would have to grow up and become a hard soul in order to be strong for you and the family. You never knew that after this picture, it would be the last time you would look healthy. And although your clothes, your shoes and your hair never changed, you did. Your body started to shut itself down and your eyes became tired. You grew tired of fighting this battle against yourself, and the medicine only made you all the more tired. The doctors were never your friends, the nurses were nice but treated everyone the same. You never knew you wouldn’t live to see your grandkids grow up. 

Its funny the things you never think about because it seems impossible for them to happen. But when it happens, it hits you like a ton of bricks and you can;t do anything but face it. I never knew I could miss someone this much, that some days I physically ache for their presence. Some nights I even think I hear you walking around the house, making your coffee, getting ready for work. Coughing, that distinct cough of yours that wasn’t dry but it wasn’t a phlegm cough either. 

I don’t know where you are, but what I know is this; I would give everything I owned just to have you here with me, with us. To hear you, and smell you and hug you and bug you. I would trade in everything to have that back.

I miss you dad.