I recently received this email and couldn’t help but think of my father, whose anniversary of passing is today. I’m lucky Joe Clair was my father. Here is one of our email exchanges from the last Father’s Day he was alive:
I wrote: Dear Dad, we once had a professor who said that the kids in the class had won the lottery of life because of where and when we were born. I feel like I won the lottery of life, not only because I was born in the greatest country, but because I had the greatest parents. You and Honey (i.e. Mom in my family) are the greatest parents anyone could ask for.
His response – all in caps, just like this:
I CERTAINLY WON THE LOTTERY OF LIFE 17 TIMES…..FIRST OF ALL HONEY
THEN 16 OF THE GREATEST KIDS ANY FATHER COULD ASK FOR. NOT BAD
FOR A MAN WHO ISN’T CONSIDERED LUCKY. I HAVE ALWAYS FELT I WAS
ONE OF GOD’S FAVORITES. DON’T 17 WINS PROVE I WAS RIGHT?
LOVE – - – DAD

The greatest Dad in the world....he thought he was lucky to have had my mom and us. We know the truth - we were lucky to have had him. A funny man, a holy man, a great singer and a lot of fun!
Facts of being Father
When I was 4 Yrs Old: My father was THE BEST
When I was 6 Yrs Old: My father seemed to be perfect person
When I was 10 Yrs Old: My father was excellent but he was short tempered
When I was 12 Yrs Old: My father was nice when I was little
When I was 14 Yrs Old: My father started being too sensitive
When I was 16 Yrs Old: My father couldn’t keep up with modern time
When I was 18 Yrs Old: My father was getting less tolerant as the days passed by
When I was 20 Yrs Old: It was too hard to forgive my father, how could my Mum stand him all these years
When I was 25 Yrs Old: My father seemed to be objecting to everything I did
When I was 30 Yrs Old: It was very difficult to be in agreement with my father, I wondered if my Grandfather was troubled by my father when he was young.
When I was 40 Yrs Old: My father brought me up with a lot of discipline, I must do the same.
When I was 45 Yrs Old: I am puzzled, how did my father manage to raise all of us?
When I was 50 Yrs Old: It’s rather difficult to control my kids, how much did my father suffer for the sake of upbringing and protecting us.
When I was 55 Yrs Old: My father was far looking and had wide plans for us, he was gentle and outstanding..
When I became 60 Yrs Old: My father is THE BEST
‘My father – The Best Father’

