On August 2nd 2006 I lost the someone who was a true inspiration to me, my father-in-law. I had a very special relationship with him. However, when I first met him, I thought I can't believe this is Dan's dad!
Ted was a very unique man, he didn't care how he looked, or how people thought he looked. He did things his own way, and that was good for him. Ted loved to collect things, (it looked like junk to the rest of us), but to him he it was always a good find, because as he would say and I quote " You never know when you are going to need it". Most times he was right!
As time went on I learned little things about him. Ted was a veteran of World War II he served in Japan and Korea during and after the conflicts. He also lost both parents at a young age, and raised all of his brothers and sister. He was only 23 when doing this, and his youngest brother was 8! During this time he also put himself through college, and started his own business. He was a hard worker. Ted always felt that family came first no matter what anyone else thought.
Ted never let anything embarrass him, and to Dan he was the best, because he had a car(Ted was known for some of his cars) that looked just like the Ghost Busters station wagon. Ted would take Dan out in the car, and they put the Ghost Busters logo on the car, and they would drive around town in the wagon playing the Ghost Busters theme song! What a Dad!
Ted loved cars...Used Cars!...We used to tease Lois (my mother-in-law) every time Ted would bring another car home...If you could see some of the things he bought you would have teased her too! My favorite car that Ted owned was painted red, white, and blue.....The hood was red, the doors were white, and the trunk was blue....we called it the patriotic car. We had nicknames for every junk car that he bought...the cars were literally junk! He never cared what anyone thought about his cars....they were all treasures to him!
Ted was a very kind and caring man, who would do anything for anybody, and this gave him great joy! When I was pregnant with Emma, and on bed rest, he took me to the doctors office because it was a snowy day, and he didn't want me to miss my appointment. The one thing I remember about this appointment was when I was done, and went back into the waiting room to go home, poor Ted (who was shy, and by nature moved about as fast as a turtle) was sitting between two pregnant women, I never saw that man get up so fast in my entire life to go home. Ted also did his younger brother's grocery shopping every week, and made sure he was taken care of, because his brother was unable to care for himself. He never once complained, or bragged about what he did. He just did it, and never once wanted credit for anything.
In April of 2006 he was diagnosed with bladder cancer, which was corrected with surgery, and he was fine for awhile. Then he became very ill with another cancer, but Ted was not letting the cancer beat him down. He maintained all of his usual activities, and worked up until the month before he died. He lost his battle with cancer in August of 2006.
Why am I sharing this story? I started thinking everyone in this world has someone they admire for something they did, whether it is a celebrity, politician, or whoever. Ted is my inspiration because he never let the bad things in his life get him down, he rolled with the punches, and never once complained about the roller coaster we call life. This why he was simply the best, and my inspiration in life. Ted will never be truly gone for me, two little pieces of him are always here....Emma and Teddy! He will always be Simply the Best!
