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My father died last night.
I was hesitant about posting this here cause I know how some of you feel about me or claim this as a story but screw it.
I wanted this out there because it involves the passing of a great man before his time that otherwise only got bad press in this state.
Yes he screwed up and drove while medicated and changed some peoples lives forever. I am not discounting that and grieve for their families as he did every day till his death. He even drove me crazy for a couple years just 3 years ago but that was not the man everyone knew and loved.
Last night just after midnight I received a call from some Nigerian Lt at the Galveston Prison Hospital that my father had died. They don't know why and don't care. They just hounded me as to when I will claim the body so he could finish his paperwork last night.
So let me tell you about the man I remembered. As a kid I always remember his love. House was plastered with pics of me and him since my birth. He was the first husband allowed in the birth room at the hospital and he cut my cord. I will always remember the love I had since birth from him. I remember being 4 years old and him bringing home "desktop computers" before they existed to the public. I would sit on the floor and play with his amazing computer tools. He was always the smartest man I knew. He worked in some advanced field as long as I can remember. When we moved to Texas he was the guy who started installing the LASER scan terminals in most of Houston's super markets. He was the only one allowed to fix them as nobody else at the time had a clue what they were. Shortly after he took a job with NASA and that was always a great source of pride as a kid. I remember him taking me to touch and see things that were eventually launched into space. He was an integral part to the first few shuttle launches and installed several systems on them. He was also key in the radio telescope endeavor and NOVA (Episode 11, Listening to the Stars) called him a genius that discovered the first black hole. He didn't really and always was the first to say it. He was the tech that allowed for the Houston computer to read the Australians data. He was always the most honest person I knew.
Years later he moved to Maui and I followed shortly after he constantly begged my mother to have me move out with him. In my teen years he took me to the most beautiful places on the planet on that tiny little island. We would go surf almost every morning and then go hike to incredible spots. Seen things few ever got to see like an old hidden underground bunker in the West Maui mountains. Was an incredible underground spring.
Not too long afterwords he was contracted to build a robotics system for the Air Force telescopes on top of Haleakala. He hired me on and I was the only civilian allowed to video tape these massive telescopes go through the motions. I worked with him for several years after that and was taught more about electronics then a lifetime of school could have taught. We automated all the drinking water plants and a couple waste water plants in Maui. After that he was hired on to LURE Dome to automate their mirrors for the LASER tracking project and latter became their LASER tech. He got me a job there too and what a job it was! My job was to sit at the highest point of Haleakala and watch for small aircraft and allow the LASER to fire then latter on be the asst LASER tech. The job rocked cause I still got to work with my father every day and we loved our jobs. He still took time to teach me something new every day up there.
Shortly after he fell ill to Hep C and had to stop working because of the treatments he was under. Being the man he was, instead of just collecting a paycheck he insisted to write all their code from home and then do all their AUTO CAD drawings and schematics for upcoming projects. I used to marvel at the detail he would put into his drawings.
The man made me who I am and allowed me to have a spectacular life. When he was finally let go from LURE and could no longer support himself his wife (After my mother) left him and kicked him out after taking all his cash. Thats why we moved back to Texas, I sold off everything I had to buy property out here to have no big bills so I could take care of him. Unfortunately the doctors just over medicated him and he became a shell of who he was. He was involved in a traffic accident and sentenced to 19 years in prison. This last year I saw the man I knew come back since he was no longer so doped up and regret all the fights and distancing from when he was over medicated. I failed him, didn't try hard enough to correct what the doctors were doing to him and he had to die in a prison hospital alone. He didn't deserve that! He was always so kind and helpful his whole life. Always a patient teacher. Always gave his son praise and helped him become a man.
I saw him three weeks ago and he was looking better. He was always telling me that the facility wouldn't treat him. First they said he was too sick so why bother. Latter they said they didn't have it in the budget and he should just go to Hospice and wait to die.
I was so happy (and sad) when I couldn't visit him last week cause they moved him to a hospital unit. I thought he was gonna get treatment. I had saved up to afford the 600 mile trip to visit him in Galveston today, was really looking foreword to it. I had just fallen asleep when the call came in he was dead. It took over 2 hours to absorb what I was told because it just couldn't be real..... didn't they know I was just about to go visit him, how could he be dead!?
I'm still in a fog. The last few years I have lost 3/4 of my remaining family and my grandmother just moved to Idaho so its only me here now. I have to call the place back and notify them if I am gonna claim the body so they can finish their fuggin paperwork.
RIP Dad
I wanted this out there because it involves the passing of a great man before his time that otherwise only got bad press in this state.
Yes he screwed up and drove while medicated and changed some peoples lives forever. I am not discounting that and grieve for their families as he did every day till his death. He even drove me crazy for a couple years just 3 years ago but that was not the man everyone knew and loved.
Last night just after midnight I received a call from some Nigerian Lt at the Galveston Prison Hospital that my father had died. They don't know why and don't care. They just hounded me as to when I will claim the body so he could finish his paperwork last night.
So let me tell you about the man I remembered. As a kid I always remember his love. House was plastered with pics of me and him since my birth. He was the first husband allowed in the birth room at the hospital and he cut my cord. I will always remember the love I had since birth from him. I remember being 4 years old and him bringing home "desktop computers" before they existed to the public. I would sit on the floor and play with his amazing computer tools. He was always the smartest man I knew. He worked in some advanced field as long as I can remember. When we moved to Texas he was the guy who started installing the LASER scan terminals in most of Houston's super markets. He was the only one allowed to fix them as nobody else at the time had a clue what they were. Shortly after he took a job with NASA and that was always a great source of pride as a kid. I remember him taking me to touch and see things that were eventually launched into space. He was an integral part to the first few shuttle launches and installed several systems on them. He was also key in the radio telescope endeavor and NOVA (Episode 11, Listening to the Stars) called him a genius that discovered the first black hole. He didn't really and always was the first to say it. He was the tech that allowed for the Houston computer to read the Australians data. He was always the most honest person I knew.
Years later he moved to Maui and I followed shortly after he constantly begged my mother to have me move out with him. In my teen years he took me to the most beautiful places on the planet on that tiny little island. We would go surf almost every morning and then go hike to incredible spots. Seen things few ever got to see like an old hidden underground bunker in the West Maui mountains. Was an incredible underground spring.
Not too long afterwords he was contracted to build a robotics system for the Air Force telescopes on top of Haleakala. He hired me on and I was the only civilian allowed to video tape these massive telescopes go through the motions. I worked with him for several years after that and was taught more about electronics then a lifetime of school could have taught. We automated all the drinking water plants and a couple waste water plants in Maui. After that he was hired on to LURE Dome to automate their mirrors for the LASER tracking project and latter became their LASER tech. He got me a job there too and what a job it was! My job was to sit at the highest point of Haleakala and watch for small aircraft and allow the LASER to fire then latter on be the asst LASER tech. The job rocked cause I still got to work with my father every day and we loved our jobs. He still took time to teach me something new every day up there.
Shortly after he fell ill to Hep C and had to stop working because of the treatments he was under. Being the man he was, instead of just collecting a paycheck he insisted to write all their code from home and then do all their AUTO CAD drawings and schematics for upcoming projects. I used to marvel at the detail he would put into his drawings.
The man made me who I am and allowed me to have a spectacular life. When he was finally let go from LURE and could no longer support himself his wife (After my mother) left him and kicked him out after taking all his cash. Thats why we moved back to Texas, I sold off everything I had to buy property out here to have no big bills so I could take care of him. Unfortunately the doctors just over medicated him and he became a shell of who he was. He was involved in a traffic accident and sentenced to 19 years in prison. This last year I saw the man I knew come back since he was no longer so doped up and regret all the fights and distancing from when he was over medicated. I failed him, didn't try hard enough to correct what the doctors were doing to him and he had to die in a prison hospital alone. He didn't deserve that! He was always so kind and helpful his whole life. Always a patient teacher. Always gave his son praise and helped him become a man.
I saw him three weeks ago and he was looking better. He was always telling me that the facility wouldn't treat him. First they said he was too sick so why bother. Latter they said they didn't have it in the budget and he should just go to Hospice and wait to die.
I was so happy (and sad) when I couldn't visit him last week cause they moved him to a hospital unit. I thought he was gonna get treatment. I had saved up to afford the 600 mile trip to visit him in Galveston today, was really looking foreword to it. I had just fallen asleep when the call came in he was dead. It took over 2 hours to absorb what I was told because it just couldn't be real..... didn't they know I was just about to go visit him, how could he be dead!?
I'm still in a fog. The last few years I have lost 3/4 of my remaining family and my grandmother just moved to Idaho so its only me here now. I have to call the place back and notify them if I am gonna claim the body so they can finish their fuggin paperwork.
RIP Dad
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