I was lucky. I had a great dad. He took an interest in me, took time to be a good dad and, as a result, I had a wonderful childhood in upstate New York.
When I was a kid my dad took me places. Local places. He took me to the circus, on pony rides, to professional wrestling matches, basketball games, baseball games, swimming, bike riding, fruit and vegetable picking, hayrides, sleigh rides and everything else that was available in my town. I never lacked for interesting things to do with my dad. And, as a result, I developed an active interest in many things, including sports. As a 10-year-old kid I participated in playground basketball, baseball, football, tennis, swimming, fishing, ice skating, bike riding, sleigh riding (we lived on a hill), hiking (we lived near a mountain) and everything else a kid could do outside. It was fun. It was active. It was outdoors, in all four seasons. It was a fundamental and priceless non-school education. These activities allowed me to discover who I was, what my limits were, what I enjoyed and what I didn't enjoy, what I was good at and what I was not good at. As it turned out, except for bike riding, I was better at indoor games.
I was a lucky kid. I had a terrific active idyllic childhood and I am very grateful for it - and very grateful to my father for providing it and encouraging it. My early years were my life's formative experiences and, luckily, they were mostly good experiences, experiences which stood me in good stead throughout my entire lifetime. Thanks, dad, for helping me become me. You did a good job.
