Everyone has seen how I joke around about frivolous things, body functions, poor brain matter, etc. I own it and it's all true.....
My father however, was one of the most amazing people I ever knew. A POW in North Korea(very very rough), and an American Airlines pilot who saved near 1300 lives in his career from avoiding other jets in his flight pattern, to jumping over a Braniff 747 with a DC-10 that was in the middle of his designated runway when he was trying to land... The FAA thanked him. That NEVER happens....passengers too..... He was offered much, but didn't take it.
If he couldn't fix something, it couldn't be fixed. I put that on his Epitaff/Tombstone along with "best pilot in the world".
I'm not saying this to brag on my father....
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I don't mind saying with staunch, that he is a winner and it would be impossible to fill his shoes. I Never will ,and it's OK. I have done absolutely impossible things to survive in impossible places in far off lands, but nothing was ever good about it... to my knowledge, I didn't save anyone.....
You might say I'm the opposite, even to death/birth. I was hatched on May 27th at 06:00, he passed at November 27th 18:00.... strange indeed!
Remarkable man... he'd joke about the same silly stuff I did, but when I did it, he didn't think it was funny. That in itself is hilarious to me. We were never friends. I respected him tremendously, and even though I walked on eggshells all the time, he was/is my hero... super-herc he said smiling, being silly so many years ago (superman-hercules) he didn't joke much with me.
Reason I'm saying this is; he got incontinence and dementia followed. It was crushing to see. This amazing proud man having to put up with this! It's something that will never be funny. The dementia tortured him, as he had pretty much a photographic memory.... He had been pretty rough on me at times, physically overboard, POW schitt yanno. but it was common back then...
I forgave him, and to my surprise, and dementia left immediately when that happened. That minute. Very strange! but It needed to for this I guess. Glad it did. For the last three days of his life dementia came in and out, but we actually became friends.... I didn't see that coming. I always wished for that earlier through life, but I'll take it. He wished that time would have come sooner, but he just didn't know how to get to that spot. Three days is better than no days.
Duane Eddy's "Rebel Rouser" Would be his Swan Song. one of my favorites.