Mi Familia.
My Clan.
My Support system extraodinaire.

I am a family man, it extends well beyond traditional boundaries and genetic lines, across the span of the country and back again. I think it is a factor of friendship, lots of love, emotion, joy, caring, responsibility, duty, and maybe just a little tinge of destiny. I'm not sure that's all that encompasses them, but it sure is satisfying and wonderful that they are there.

Flame and I were friends for a long time before we married. My three sons have become friends. Now that's a remarkable feat, since I worried, grew frustrated, was scared, and just a tad PO'd at them all at one time or another. They are adults now, with family's of their own and I am so very proud of each of them.

They were raised on three continents. Their experiences are part of their makeup and they have apparently stood the test of teenage angst, college screwups, poor decisions, painful lessons and are now Gentlemen. I will explain more about that later.

Mi Familia. It extends from Florida to Washington State, from California to Maine.
It includes, Sisters,(both genetic and of the heart) Mothers (genetic and of the heart),1st, 2nd, and 3rd cousins on both sides of my family tree, room mates from school, military friendships, neighbors of old and new, and each and every one of them can be named "Friend".

I am awestruck when I think of these wonderful people, kith and kin. I am blessed. I know as one of my friends said" I would drop everything and hop on a plane and say What can I do to Help?" if it came to that. I would do it, I know they would do it, my sons would do it, because that's what we are...collectively. We didn't start out that way, but that's the way it happened. How Marvelous!!!!!

I am a proud man to be a part of such a mixed bag of wonderful, wonderful friends. So Happy Father's Day, Happy Flag Day, Happy Birthday US Army, Flame, Happy Aniversary.