The Old Man's Birthday

Today is my old man's birthday.  It may be hard to catch him to wish him well....he has been at the State Fair for several days helping kids with show lambs we raised and then he's headed to a motorcycle rally with his cousins.  No, he has never had a motorcycle.  Yes, he attends this rally every year.  If you are there, you'll recognize him as the guy in the cowboy hat.

I thought I'd share an article I had published last year in Seeing the Everyday that I think sums him up pretty well.  Happy Birthday to my old man!

Best Gift

Ask my dad about the prohibition on admitting hearsay testimony at trial. Ask him about how many minutes a quarter lasts in girls high school basketball.  Ask him the weight of a typical Holstein cow. He’ll be able to tell you about them all.

These are examples of my father's best gift to me. Did my dad have some inner love for the Federal Rules of Evidence or high school sports or dairy cows? No.  He is a simple mechanic and rancher who did not play high school sports, has never been to court, and does not raise dairy cattle.  He had no interest in these things, but my dad had an interest in me.  And, because of that, he took an interest in the things that were important to me.

I remember shooting baskets and my dad coming out to rebound for me or make suggestions about my form. He had never played basketball, and perhaps in a private conversation he would tell you that Single A girls athletics were boring. But he was there helping. When I judged dairy cows in high school he helped me study for the test by asking me the average weight for each different breed.  We spent hours studying for that test.  That work and time together was special.  Our relationship wasn't the only benefactor of that time side by side - we were State Champions and Reserve National Champions.

His commitment to our relationship hasn't changed since I've become an adult. When I would prepare for a mock trial in law school we would talk about the issues in the case, the motions in limine, and how we planned on getting certain statements in. Again—with no legal background at all, he simply cared because I did. And when we got the evidence in and won the trial, he sat in the back of the courtroom, beaming with satisfaction. 

Even last month when I was running a 5k early one morning  Dad called the night before to be sure I knew it was going to be cold and that I could wear tights and a jacket to stay warm. 

Knowing that you have someone behind you, who supports your interests even when those interests are completely different than his own, is a gift,  maybe the best gift that a father could give. I know that my dad is always in my corner truly supporting every effort.