His name is Tim. I just me him this week and he's a single parent raising

two girls alone. I liked him.

His mom was a single parent as well. Raised him alone. He never knew his

real dad. She did a good job. No doubt about it, she did a real good job.

He was in my home for several hours repairing my Macintosh G3 computer.

Again... he wasn't here again. I just met him. The Mac was down again.

Tim was here for close to four hours. Actually I lost track of time. But

it was plenty long enough for me to know I hope I see this kid again.

I invited him to bring his girls down on Sunday for dinner (lunch, that

is). We will confirm it later. He lives on Lake Lanier so he likes to

enjoy the lake whenever the weather permits. Sounds like his girls take

to the water like fish as well. No problem, I assured him, my home is

open year round.

You'd be surprised what you can learn about a person when you are still

and alone with that person for four hours with no interruptions. My phone

only rang once while he was here. A shock. I have three lines and only

one of them rang one time. Unheard of.

Tim was so much like my younger son that I was really shocked at times.

I thought no one in the world could be like Derrick. That's a compliment,

not a cut, in case he reads this, which he never does. Just covering my

bases.

I'm talking about Tim because I want to tell you about his Friday nights.

It's movie night. He and the girls, 5 and 8 years old, rent movies and

eat junk and stay awake until all hours. The youngest gives it up around

11 p.m.; the oldest can easily make it until 3 a.m.

Tim's mom, who lives nearby, gets onto him for such behavior. The girls

need their rest, she says. Saturday is ballet day. They need lots of energy

to dance and they have to concentrate as well.

Me? I hope he never stops doing Friday nights. I figure, however, that

he may have two, possibly three more good years left with the oldest.

earlier and earlier trying to wean them selves from their parents these

days.

If Tim's lucky, and I'm banking on him, they just might save a Friday

night a month for him when they are older. I hope they will. In a matter

of hours I could see how special he is. Surely his kids know.

But I didn't. I didn't know how special my dad was until after he was

gone. He worked three jobs to support his seven kids. My mom never worked

outside the home. So time was limited with Daddy. But, as I look back,

I realize it was from Daddy that I learned to entertain, to talk, to "live."

The man enjoyed life and his enthusiasm for the human experience was so

contagious that all those around him were infected by it.

I saw Joyce last weekend. Hadn't seen her in 30 years. Visited for about

four hours and had a ball. Talked, laughed, reminisced. She said I brought

back memories of how Uncle Alton's and Aunt Mary's family always enjoyed

life.

There's so much we take for granted. Tim and I talked about how he plays

with his kids, how much he loves them. He told me how the little one,

at 3 years old, jumped over board into the lake one summer. Didn't fall,

mind you. She jumped. He did too. Instantly. What's 30 knots or standing

still to a toddler? She hasn't done it again. His heart couldn't take

it.

I was so thrilled to meet this young man and hear him talk about his kids.

And the dad he never knew. It was cool to observe no bitterness. Even

at his young age, I think he already knows life is too short to pepper

it with bitterness and resentment.

I'm looking forward to introducing him to my son. Derrick hasn't been

married and does not have kids, but otherwise the similarities were uncanny.

Maybe the two of them could put together a seminar on how to enjoy life

and the rest of us could take a few hours out of our far too busy days

to attend. Four hours is plenty of time to catch the enthusiasm. What

you do with it once you catch it, now that's up to you.

I never thanked my dad for the best gift he ever gave me. I wish I had.