faulker009

Eight years ago I wished my dad a Happy Father’s Day. For the last time. Thirteen days later, he died of a massive heart attack. The good news is he suffered for about 15 seconds. The bad news is I have suffered for nearly eight years. And counting. Father’s Day is not the same without your father. I wasn't there that morning When my father passed away I didn't get to tell him All the things I had to say My father made it very clear that I was his earth and his moon. And his only son. My parents got divorced when I was 12 and I was pretty much raised by a single dad. He did the best job he could -- a damn good job -- considering his father died when he was nine. My dad, an only child, spent the next 50 years raising his mom. He graduated from New York University after going to seven years of night school.   That gave him the opportunity to work during the day to bring in money for the two of them. He believed in working hard and wasn't afraid to do it. The result was an ama...

Last night, Adam Morrison became a two-time NBA Champion, winning his second consecutive ring with the Los Angeles Lakers. In college, Morrison played in every game during his three years at Gonzaga University, posting an amazing 83-12 record. In his Junior season, he led the nation in scoring with 28.1 points per game. In 2006, the Charlotte Bobcats selected Morrison with the third overall pick in the NBA Draft. Despite all of those accomplishments, if you watched the 2010 NBA Finals, you probably didn’t see Morrison. But my 11-year old son did. “Hey dad, he’s the guy that cried.” That was the reaction of my son when the broadcast showed a shot of the Lakers bench. In 2006, Morrison’s Gonzaga team lost a heartbreaking NCAA Tournament game to UCLA in the final seconds, 73-71. It has been called one of the best games of the decade. With 2.6 seconds left and his team trailing by just two points, the cameras zoomed in on the 6-foot-8 Morrison sobbing uncontrollably, face-down on the floor...

The jukebox in my head has this amazing shuffle feature. Pick a day, any day, and I've got some random song buzzing through my skull.   And usually it ends up with a full audio track for anyone within an ear-shot. Yesterday, "The Way" by Fastball was center stage. This morning, "Angels Wanna Wear My Red Shoes" by Elvis Costello was the choice du jour. A couple of days ago I started singing "I Swear", the 90's classic by the group All-4-One. Now when you are at home singing in the shower or kitchen or wherever and nobody is around it's really not an issue.  We all do it. But now that I am back in the working world, I probably need to be a little more aware of when to hit that play switch. A few days ago I was typing along on my computer at work and all of a sudden I just belted out the words "And I Swear". Immediately, like it was on cue, my co-worker, easily 15 years my junior, added from across the room "by the moon and the star...

I have smoked two cigarettes in my life. The first came at a party during my freshman year in college when I capped off a night of underage drinking by losing my tobacco virginity. I know, I know, two wrongs don't make a right. The second cigarette came about a week later when a girl space friend offered me a menthol. Have you ever had a menthol? It really is the cure to quit smoking. It did it for me. Now, I'm not claiming to be any type of health nut and I certainly enjoy eating straight out of the Ben and Jerry's pint as the clock strikes midnight, but fortunately tobacco has not been part of my diet since that night in 1985. I can remember my dad puffing on a cigar from time to time. And I can remember my mom sneaking cigarettes in the bathroom. But fortunately I didn't come from a family of chain smokers. Then again, my mom and dad had no brothers or sisters, so there really wasn't much of a sample. It's always amazing to me when you walk through an airport...

If I could do it all over again, I would’ve been a musician. Perhaps a struggling musician, perhaps a world famous musician, but I would’ve been a musician. I love music, all kinds of music. If you check out my collection of CDs, you will see everything from Billie Holiday to Eminem, Bryan Adams to Ryan Adams. I also LOVE going to concerts.   Something about it being live and unpredictable. In my 43 years, I have been incredibly fortunate to see nearly every band I wanted to see. Even acts I don’t know much about. As a 16-year old, my friend Phil and I paid $5 each to sit at the top of the Hollywood Bowl to see B.B. King and Ray Charles. Have you ever been to the top of the Hollywood Bowl? No wonder those seats were $5. But hey, we can tell our grandkids we saw B.B. King and Ray Charles in concert. We couldn’t hear ‘em, but we saw them.   Barely. A couple of years ago I took my wife to go see Metallica, a great concert band. My wife is not much of a music person, although she ...