My father grew up as the youngest and only boy in a family of six children. His father was an alcoholic, and his mother was deaf. One could say that this family was dysfunctional, but in the 1960's, there was no such term, so my grandparents did the best they could at raising their children. But alcohol only made my grandfather violent, and he resorted to physical abuse along with much emotional abuse. My father has told me stories of him hiding from his father, terrified that he was going to be beaten. My grandfather promised for years that he would give my dad a chance for a quality college education, but when the time arose he said, "I don't have the money," and turned his head.
             My father ended up dropping out of high school and joining the military. He went to college at night, and he worked all day so he could pay bills. It took everything he had just to survive. Finally, after two years, he received his Bachelor of Science degree and proceeded to officer training school where he became a captain of the C-130 cargo transport plane. Since my father has come such a long way, he is proof that hard work and constant effort pay off when achieving goals. I look back at what he went through and think, "If he could make it through that, then I will surely be able to handle any problem that may occur in my life."
             I can remember many wonderful times I have had with my dad, but that does not mean we haven't ridden down any rocky roads. As a child, my family and I moved a lot because my dad always got re-stationed in the air force, but he always made sure that I got the best of living, wherever it might have been. When we moved to Colorado, we went hunting and camping in the mountains. I remember getting up before dawn and having a hot breakfast consisting of bacon, eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy. After breakfast we would hike to the top of the large, snow-covered mountain we cam...