Luis Mirasol Jr. would have been 73 if he were still around.  He passed away a year before I graduated.  How I wished he could have held his grandaughter, my dearest Cate, who is now a little more than a year old.  I can't help but think of him fondly and longingly today.  Especially today.  Words fail me when I try to think about how much he meant to me; to my family.  Along with mom, they were the best parents in the world.  How blessed I am to have had them both in my life.

I miss those mahjong days, those Othello lessons, seeing him play Scrabble with ma, and dancing playfully to elicit laughs.  I long for those dirty jokes, those phantom farts, his devotion to Joe Montana's 49ers, and weekends with him watching NBA games, Tennis Grand Slam matches, and yes Sumo Wrestling on NHK (Takanohana was our favorite).  What I'll miss most was his quiet, calming, reassuring, and authoritative presence, the kind that makes you know that everything will be right as rain as long as he's around.  The greatest man I ever met, was indeed the first.