Words of wisdom fell on deaf, young ears.
Banter that meant nothing to a child with ill concern for the future, but it absorbed and stayed locked away.
And one day, when the wings have spread and the nest is deserted, those words echo like a wolves howl through the forest.
They never go away.
They linger like a cloud on a windless day.
Though it seems they went to the wayside, every syllable found a niche, a hiding place, a spot to remain until it needed to be thrown back into my reality.
And times have come and gone when those little vowels and consonants that had no bearing at one time, shouted at me from inside my own head.
And they pushed me, and guided me, and led me to where I found what I was looking for.
For better or for worse. They got me there.
Certainly, a man learns from his mistakes, from his triumphs, from life's cruel hoaxes and tricks. From his own failures and fortunes.
But a father's words lay dormant in the back of the mind and remain there forever and ever despite knowing more or knowing better.
They are a father's words, they are never wrong no matter how unright they may be.
No matter how little sense they make. At some point they will.
The light might not shine down until the thought has come and passed, until I've realized exactly where my intentions, my drives, my motivations came from.
Words stay forever.
For good.
For bad.
Happy or harmful.
Joyous or painful.
Cruel and damaging.
Words stay forever.
But a father's words are said not out of anger or rage or resentment or hatred, but out of love, and only love, and to ensure that his seed's spawn takes every step in the right direction to whatever goal it is he seeks.
And he shall find it, because a father's words are always there with him.
I have found my world.
I have settled into my land of dreams quite comfortably. I am living my childhood dream. I am smack dab in the middle of it and I have no desire to ever leave.
I pin a badge on my chest with the same great pride that my father continues to do so after thirty five years.
And I will continue to carry myself throughout my life with pride, and integrity, and compassion, and empathy.
Because those deaf ears were listening the whole time.
And all along, Dad was right.
