Thank You, Michigan. This One's For You, Dad.

This is somewhat of an ironic entry. Eleven years ago today, my father passed of a long and trying battle with lung cancer. I cannot explain that statement much more unless you have lost a parent to such circumstances when you really aren't even out of your teens, allowing you to fully comprehend it yourself. That said, it reminds me of a conversation I had with my father about 5 weeks before he passed. He was fighting with the dilemma of giving me some money to get him some marijuana. Knowing it was illegal he decided against it, not because it was illegal, but because he did not want me to potentially get in trouble for it. By the time I made enough money at my job to go get some on my own back at school, he was back in the hospital and the point was moot. No other child/person should have to deal with that frustration, pain, or guilt, especially in light of a terminal disease. So good on you, Michigan.