James R. Dunek (with my wife Terri in Tampa, Florida in 1984 for the USFL Championship Game).
Born in Chicago, Illinois on July 14, 1934. He will be 77 years of age in a couple of weeks.
In between Father's Day and his birthday, I thought I would write a little tribute to the man who taught me so much, and to whom I owe everything.
Dad is a survivor.
A high school drop out, he maneuvered his way around the streets of Chicago is a savvy way....once scaling the fence to get into Wrigley Field to watch his beloved Cubs, because he didn't have the 15 or 25 cents for a bleacher seat. And speaking of surviving, he beat colon cancer and a triple bypass operation that all occurred within 2 years of each other when he was in his 50's.
Dad is one of the smartest men I know.
We used to play a game where I would ask him a math question, and he would immediately figure it out in his head and tell me the answer. I would take my pad and pencil and figure it out just to make sure he wasn't getting one over on me, but he was always right.
Dad is a hard worker.
I can remember as a small child his headlights leaving our driveway at 5AM as he left for his job as the foreman of the plate department at a printing company....and seeing the same headlights many times at 10PM as he arrived home; only to do it again the next day.
Dad loves action.
We spent many a summer day on the infield of Arlington Park racetrack in suburban Chicago. Dad loved the ponies, but took the time to keep notes and study the bloodlines and recent results. He is the only man I know who has consistently made money with the ponies. Although his standard line to my mother when we came home was..."I broke about even". I also taught him how to count cards in blackjack, and he became so good at it he was booted out of his comped room at Harrah's in Las Vegas when he hit them for several thousand one night.
Dad taught me valuable lessons.
When I was 14 I had shaggy hair. The HS basketball tryouts were the next day, and he asked me if I was going to attend. I said no because they had a haircut rule on the team. He immediately dropped his paper and told me to get in his car, where we drove to the first barber shop we found and he informed the barber to give me a "crew cut". As we left the shop with me in tears he said, "Now you don't have any reason not to try out." As many know I went on to become an All State player in high school and received a full ride to play basketball at Memphis State University. I'm convinced none of it would have happened if he hadn't taken a stand that day.
Another interesting lesson was when he hired me to work in his plant in the summer I turned 16 years old. Since he was the foreman of a division, I was thinking i would receive some "cushy" job with little responsibility and flexible hours. When I arrived at work the first day, I was informed I would be working on the "shrink wrapper". It was brutal, hot work in a non air conditioned part of the factory far away from his air conditioned offices. Oh yeah....and he put me on the 4pm to 1230 am shift which negated any night life I had planned for the summer. When I asked him why he gave me such a tough job, his reply was simply, "Now you know what you don't want to do for the rest of your life".
Dad is slowing down.
As he says..."the parts are wearing out, and so am I".
So I wanted to write this for him now while he can still read it. And I hope he can feel the love and appreciation that it is written with. He taught me the life lessons of honesty, integrity, gentleness and hard work. And although it is a little tough for him to say the words "I love you, son". I know indeed the sentiment is there.
And Dad...the feeling is very, very mutual.
