Panther vs Dad Ends in Tie

As a follow-up to my post-Super Bowl post that began with my Dad's encounter with the very rare Florida panther, some might be interested in a letter he wrote his sister about the sighting that got published in the Daytona Beach News Journal.

My Dad is kind of a badass, as evidenced by this Vietnam picture, where in his young Captain days, he sought to emulate General Douglas MacArthur with his corncob pipe. He got a pair of Purple Hearts on his two tours, this picture being taken after he returned to combat following his first injury. ("Lucky to Be Back in Combat" was the quote that doubled as a headline in his hometown paper at the time.) He served twenty years, 2 of which were spent in command of a nuclear missile battalion in Germany during the Cold War, and then went on to become an American Red Cross leader in Southern California and later a self-taught programmer, professor and supergeek. He's now a Florida retiree who remains pretty much unretired.

I think of my Dad as a "cool geek patriot" in the most respectful way. Now he is also a writer of adventure tales. Way to go, Dad.