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Happy Birthday, Dad

I wish you were here. I think you'd like my friends. I can hear you and John saying that a man with true friends can make it through anything. I try to be like you to this day. There isn't much I remember, but I know you're the kind of man who gets mourned by people you fired. You're the kind of man who makes mistakes, but gets second, third, and fourth chances, because people know a good heart when they see one.

I pray for you often. Funny thing is, in the Church, I feel closer to you each day. I think you might reconsider a few things, knowing what you know now. John said you thought church people were hypocrites and liars. I knew I'd find a place to fit in!

The pain is less now, because I've done everything you would have hoped. I hope I'm like you: a man people are glad to know. I don't wonder what you'd think, because I know. A son rests easy, knowing his father is proud.

You'll have to forgive me, though: I still can't root for the Dodgers.
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