[notfarnow]

My parents split up when I was 6, and although I idolized him... dad was more of a "cool uncle" figure as I grew up. We became much closer when I was in my 20's.

Two years ago when I got laid off and went into real estate, there were times when I was ready to give up. I had little, if any support from most of my family... they wanted me to take a 9-5 job like the one I had. It was really tough, sometimes it was like the world was conspiring against me. Money, marriage, work, everything was ragged and coming apart.

My dad backed me up though, and always seemed to call *just* when I needed a lift. I don't know how I would have made it through that year without him... I really don't