Daddy's Little Girl

     You're a treasure I cherish, all sparking and bright
     You were touched by Holy and beautiful light;
     Like the angels who sing, a heavenly thing
     And you're Daddy's Little Girl

How do you write about somebody who was so special that words can not illuminate the true character of the man? My father, Earl, was a person who depicted all that is good in a human being: a kind heart, a great sense of humor, a brilliance that I have not met in any other person my entire life.

My father was truly a special person who never spoke poorly about another person and never had a jealous bone in his body. My father did not always have an easy life, right from the beginning. His mother passed away from cancer when he was only 6 months old and dad was raised by his grandparents until he was 13, when his grandmother became ill and then passed away.

His father had remarried when he was about 9 years old, and when his grandmother became ill, he moved into an apartment with his father and stepmother. My father joined the Coast Guard at 18 years old, mostly to avoid going to Vietnam, and met my mother shortly thereafter. She was 15 and he was 19 and they became engaged and married four years later. He became a mail carrier and worked hard his whole life, never complaining about the weather or his job.

Dad took care of us when my mother was ill and never complained about changing diapers, cooking dinners or folding clothes. Even before my mother was ill, he never hesitated to change a diaper or help around the house. He was so in love with my mother that he did pretty much did whatever she told him, although they did have their moments of fighting. He then would get in his car and drive down the street, and one of us girls was sent to get him in time for dinner.

When I was in sixth grade, my dad was the one who got sick, cancer of the skin (in his leg) which was pretty awful – he was in the hospital for a long time. He never complained, and recovered quickly, but he had a big scar across his leg where they removed the cancer.

My father was a fabulous grandfather when my girls were born, and eventually my son, (he called Morris the IV, Mo the Fo) he loved playing with them and never complained about watching them for me. When my mom was really sick in the last year of her life, my dad went to the hospital after work each and every day. The week that mom came home and had to sleep in the hospital bed, my dad slept on the floor, holding her hand throughout the night. Even when she lost her leg, he thought that mom was beautiful and loved her unconditionally.  

After my mother died, dad was devastated, yet he still never complained, even when his back was really hurting him a lot. The months that followed my mother's death, my father and I spent a lot of time together and spoke on the phone hours a day. When he found out that he had cancer, not even a year after my mom died, he was almost relieved, because the doctors told him that it was in his "head" and he was just mourning the loss of his wife.

He tried chemotherapy to no avail and when they told him that he only had a few weeks to live, it was probably the worst day of my life. He called me up and started to cry, he told me there was no cure for his cancer. He fought so valiantly, right up till the end, till his last breath. The whole family gathered around my father's bed and watched him fight to live, literally till his last breath. It was so awful; he was drowning in his own lung fluids. He kept saying that there was a man in the room coming to get him and he did not want to go with the man.

The last thing I said to my father was, "I love you daddy." His answer was, "I love you more". My father passed away on Sept. 15, 1992, at the age of 52, he was the kindest, most brilliant person I have ever met. I will never meet anybody in my life that will be as perfect as him, he was a hard act to follow, and I mourn his loss every day of my life. I loved my daddy and hope that he has found true happiness in heaven with my mom, his one true love.

Click here: Al Martino - Daddy's Little Girl (1967) - YouTube

My dad loved country music and for some reason this was one of  his favorite songs. Click here: Class of '57 Statler Brothers 1973 - YouTube