PERSONAL NOTE:
I have just recently began to get back to my research efforts after taking some time off.
In February of this year I lost the most important person in my life, my father. Although it has been
almost a year now, I think I am just now beginning to realize that he is gone. When you lose someone who is that close to you,
it takes time for your mind let go...you keep wanting to hang on to the hope that somehow it was
all a bad dream, and that they will suddenly walk in the door and everything will be ok. As time passes, and after a very difficult fight between your mind and your heart, you
begin to realize that although they are no longer here with you physically, the love you had will always be there, and you
know that they will always be here with you. I still find myself waiting for him...watching the door...hoping he will walk through it any moment. But
now during the times when I know he won't be walking through the door, I am able to remember all the time we did have together, and I'm finally able to smile and feel comfort in that memory.
I knew from the time I was very young that I was blessed, because I had two of the most wonderful parents any child could ask for.
I deeply regret that I never really told my father that. All of my school friends were having problems because their parents were divorced,
they only had one parent, or because their parents just didn't care about them; and I remember feeling guilty, because I didn't know how to sympathize with them, because my
parents had been happily married for a long time, and they both loved my sister and I very much, and they made sure we knew it always. There were many times when my parents would invite our friends
over to stay with us when they were having problems at home. Most of my friends growing up considered my parents their parents too in a way. Because in our home is the only time
they knew what it was like to have a family. I will always be grateful to my parents that they taught my sister and I how to love like a family, and how to share that love with those who weren't as lucky as we were.
I wish I had one moment left with my father, so I could tell him how much I love him, and thank him for all that he taught me.
I am my father's daughter in so many ways, it goes much much deeper than just sharing a last name. My father made me who I am, by teaching me love, and by sharing his heart, his mind, his generosity, and his spirit with me.
I love you daddy....
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| Joe Oliver Reid |
| 1952-1999 |