It depended on if you are a man or a woman. Women knew him as David, like the tender young man who slew the giant and was a great king in Biblical times. The men knew my dad as Dave, simply Dave. He told me, “You can always depend on a guy named Dave.” He said “Dave is a friendly name, too; everyone knows a Dave.”

I knew him as Dad.

There is a huge difference between a man who’s a father and one who is a dad. And I am going to tell you why they’re different.

The difference is that while both sire their children, a dad nurtures them and teaches by example. I was raised here in Lakeland, at Scott Lake Baptist Church, where my dad was an active member. He was a deacon and sang in the choir. He worked for years in the kitchen, and when he wasn’t serving the Lord, he attended church frequently. Quite an example.

Growing up, I had a dad who was active in almost everything I did. When I was young, he was chief of my Indian Guides tribe. In sports, he coached for my baseball and football teams. The only sport of mine he didn’t coach was soccer, but only because it was new to him.

It was not because he didn’t want to, or didn’t care. I knew he cared. He saw almost every game I was ever in, and could yell louder than any parent. At baseball games, he would yell, “Good eye Toddy!” or “Way to go, Toddy!” Everyone could hear him and I loved it.

My family has never had a lot of money, but I have to think we were and are very rich in all the ways that matter. And you can bet it’s because of my dad…