In memoriam Leonard D. Cagle, 1930-2005.

That would be my dad and today is his birthday. We lost him to post-operative complications in November of 2005. I miss him a lot. He retired and quit smoking in the early 1990s and had a good retirement. He worked hard all his life and deserved to have some time for himself, which really turned into time for us, too. Because of the labor and smoking he didn't have a lot of energy for fun for most of his life; and, of course, we as kids didn't seem to have enough time for him either. After he retired he just blossomed. I never knew he was that much fun! Or that funny. He would tell stories of growing up in Alabama that we had never heard before. It was the first time I really knew my dad.

I tend to view life differently these days. So many people attended the funeral Mass that I had never met. It touched and amazed me that he had had such a positive impact on so many people. I started to realize what was really important in life after that.

So, I'll be toasting him with a glass of Riesling later on; he discovered wine during those retirement years and Riesling was his favorite. You were a good dad, Dad and it was an honor to be yer kid.