Today Is Kyle's 45th Birthday

Today Kyle turned 45. He is Anne's and my eldest son and I was just thinking about the surprise party his wife Diane and their 11 year old son Keoni held for him last night at their home, a joyous occasion attended by about 100 people. That was the capacity they could handle for Kyle has so many friends and business associates, the crowd, as large as it was, could easily have been much bigger.

As I think back to this date in 1967, I recall standing in front of a plate glass window at Daniel Freeman Hospital in Inglewood, CA as they wheeled Anne and then Kyle out of the delivery room. (note- this is how it was done in those days, a father sat in an ashtray filled waiting room until after the birth when he was directed to have a peak at his wife and baby).

There was Kyle laying in a warmer, turning his head as if he was absorbing the world for the first time, and I looked at him with fascination and love. "I have a son," I said in my mind. "I have a son." As they wheeled him away, someone rushed over with a piece of paper for me to sign acknowledging that I was his father, a paper I proudly signed.

After saying goodbye to Anne, I went to work (note - in those days, leaves of absence for childbirth for a man were rare). I clocked in for second shift (4pm to 1am) and thought about Anne and our baby, even doing the arithmetic of saying when he is this age, I will be that age (I was 22 when he was born).

As the years have passed, he has made Anne and me and our family very proud, with his academics (he is a college graduate), his athletic talent (he played 3 years of basketball at USC), as a teacher (he taught 3 years of Special Education in South Central Los Angeles), as a police officer (nearly 5 years a Torrance officer) and his enormous real estate investment and management success (for 15 years).

But what I am most proud of is how Kyle has been a devoted husband to Diane (in May it will be 16 years) and father (Keoni is 11 years old), and for his compassion for all of humanity. These values we were determined to instill in him. By example, as much as by our words, we succeeded, for these teachings found fertile ground in the rich soil that is his heart.

Dick