We
Never Know!
On Friday,
April the 21st, 1995 I received a phone call at 11:30pm.
Informing me that my father had either a stroke or a heart
attack, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had
just spoken with him on Wednesday and he sounded fine. I
had also seen him three weeks earlier and he looked great.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
At 12:15am, I received the unfortunate news that my dad
had passed away. I will never forget the hurt, anger, and
sadness I felt at that moment. To make matters worst was
the long four hour drive of mourning from Atlanta, Georgia
to Knoxville, Tennessee. I couldn’t believe that this
had happened to our happy family.
He was my hero, counselor, financial advisor, best friend,
but most of all my DAD. He was the person I turned to when
I had a problem or needed advice. Words can not express
my sorrow and lose, especially, when that person was someone
as great as he was.
Over the years he has taught me a lot of things. One was
how to have a great and successful marriage. When I got
married my dad gave me a card and inside he wrote, "Remember
in life there are rough days, bad times, and short tempers
but in order to survive you must be willing at times to
give 95% instead of the normal 50/50 percent, because of
love and nothing else. Don’t live a life of "I
told you so" or "you made a mistake" but
let each day be lived in a way that is forgiving and forgetting.
The good times will outweigh the bad times." This he
did because NEVER in 31 years of my life did I ever hear
my parents get into a fight. Our house was not the biggest
on the block or the one with all the newest and latest gadgets
inside, but it definitely was a house filled with love and
happiness.
My first Thanksgiving away from home I received a card from
him and inside he wrote, "I am proud of what you have
accomplished at this point in your life and hope that the
future holds many more interesting and inspiring things
for you. Remember, you are the main force that will determine
how bleak or bright the future will be. Believe in God and
also in yourself, God can help you more than anything or
anybody else in the world can. Influence people with a smile
and a determination to do a good job whatever that minimal
position may be. DO NOT BE AFRAID to believe in yourself
but at the same time admit when you are wrong."
It has been almost ten years since my dad has passed away.
A day doesn’t go by that I don’t think about him
or miss him. I know now that I am the luckiest person in
the world to have had such a wonderful DAD. The only regret
I have is that he is not around to comfort my mother.
He departed from this world at the young age
of 52, enjoying only seven months of his retirement after
working 26 years at Y-12 in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
As long as his beliefs stay alive, so will his legacy. "The
Net Rag" is dedicated to my dad Teddy E. "Sonny"
Breeden - February 22, 1943 to April 21, 1995. As my dad
would say, "He was just a hillbilly who had a great
passion for enjoying life and living".
We miss and love you very much,
Mom, Vickie, Greg, & Haley, Kim & Phil, and David
