My father was amazing! I will always remember this one evening after supper when I was 8 years old; we went for a really long bike ride. Half way through biking, we stopped and had some ice cream and we both had our favorite flavor "Chocolate chip cookie dough." Of course, me being the piglet that I am, I finished mine in like two minutes, but my Dad was so giving that he gave me the rest of his cone. We sat there for a while and played a couple of games like "I Spy" and other guessing games. We went back home and it was a lot harder and longer that way because we were biking against the wind. After we got home we rested again and watched "The Little Mermaid" and fell asleep on the couch.

Sadly, I have never experienced stories like this. My dad was taken when I was 5 and I don't have that many memories. Actually, I don't think I have any at all. All I have are pictures, stuffed toys, cards that he gave me and all the wonderful stories that my family share with me about him. He used to take me bike riding when he was alive; I was too small to ride a bike so he used to put me in a kid seat in the back. He used to spend a lot of time with not only me, but my brothers and sister as well. He loved us all very very much and it showed.

I do believe very much that my dad's spirit is alive and he is watching over everyone that he loved. I had this one dream, maybe about a year ago. I was walking home and this man pulled up in a cab and my dad was sitting in the back and said, "Come in." I was so excited, it felt so real. I gave him the biggest hug and asked him how he found me, and he said he's always been around but finally had a chance to show himself. We went for a really really long cab ride (I love car rides, my mother used to take me when I was younger for like an hour a night driving. I still love car rides to this day). My dad told me, "I know you love car rides and I can't drive so I thought I would get a cab." He asked about my dancing and the family, about Rhonda going to school, and about mom's back (she hurt her back over a year ago). He asked about my brother Chuck in Fort Frances. And like any father would, he gave me heck for not finishing school and that I need to go back. He also told me thanks for giving him a voice. He said that it felt like this whole time he was yelling and no one could hear him. He was so glad that we were speaking for him. He didn't get to stay long, so he dropped me off at home and he told me that he's always going to be there and that he loved our family very much and not to worry about Yvonne. He said that someday she will get hers.