I have decided to create parts for my stories, as I plan to post more in the coming days and weeks, AND because I'm the oldest, so there. My experiences with dad are a lot different than my siblings, yet we are all inexorably tied together with "dad" thread, a very coarse, rough thread, stronger than steel, unbreakable, but always wrapped around us with love. Spoiler alert, I'm going to be what will seem to be somewhat "harsh" in this story but it's not meant to be, just keeping it real. I didn't know who my dad was until I was 11 yrs old. Mom said that they split up when I was a baby, the only contact I had was mail from somebody named Bestifar, & Bestimar, my Great grandparents, and from Gram. I got cards for every birthday, Christmas, Easter, just about any holiday that requires a card, I got one. I would ask about my dad, mom had 1 pic of them cutting the cake at their wedding, she didn't know if he was alive or not, this was during Vietnam, so I can understand why she would say that. One day I got a letter from him, kind of a "how have you been I've not seen you for a long time" letter. He said he decided to write because Gram had pushed him to reconciliation with me. I remember sitting at the kitchen table and just crying for what seemed an hour when I got that letter. I was completely stunned. He had put his phone # in the letter, I think it took mom 3-4 weeks of talking to me about it before I allowed her to call for me. I just remember being scared, ( what would I do, if after all these years if he reject d me again) I know irrational thought, but I was and irrational boy at that time. I remember sitting there next to mom while she talked with him for what seemed like an eternity, she then asked if I wanted to talk to him, I breathlessly said yes, I could barely talk ( I know, I know, one of the RARE times I was speechless) as like most little kids, he did most of the talking, I just grunted yes and no. Part 2 in a bit.....