Other trips such as sailing the Caribbean and Tonga were other great adventures but one of the hardest and best of all was his own trip riding a horse from Mexico to Canada along the continental divide trail. I traveled a good portion of it with him and I can’t stress enough how hard it was and how amazed I am at how tough he is. I have included a picture but it can’t truly show the beauty of our country and what it’s like when you get days from any humans and in areas people just don’t go. Riding along with my Dad I had a lot of time to think back on how much I have done with him and the experiences I have had. Also, now being a father myself I’ve realized that he is truly an impossible act to follow. As I raise my kids I am daily more and more amazed at what he as a person/dad was able to do and more importantly what he was able to and continues to do as a Dad.
Feats of fathers
For this annual Daily Pilot feature, readers have sent in letters to remind the dads in Newport-Mesa how much they’re appreciated.
Today, I own a successful company and have a wonderful family. I don’t care what anyone says about how a person makes his own way. I do make my own way but I make it based off the incredible life of experiences, hard lessons, and instruction from my Dad. He has lived an incredible life and I have to thank him. My travels and experiences are priceless and my time with him is so special.
That old song “Cats in the Cradle” is perfect. The line “I’m gonna be like him, yeah/ You know I’m gonna be like him.” Well, I hope I can.
Thank you for the opportunity to write this — as I sit on a plane flying back to Europe for business I am overwhelmed with memorys and all those years when your parents say, “It goes in a blink of an eye.” Well, it truly does.
Mike Manclark
Chief executive of Leading Edge Companies
