My Father Was Always There …

My Father was always there, I could remember that he was the first person I would encounter when I got back from school. My father ran his own business, apparently he worked once at Avis then started his own business soon after that. My father was either at home, which was next door to the business or working. Only now I understand how lucky I was to experience him the way I did during those times. He would pick me up at school on random days when he was not as busy with work and he would take me to Doll House and ask all sorts of questions. There was a point when I felt he was intrusive within my life, this guy was involved hey.

If my dad wasn’t not involved in my life I would’ve ended doing crime or probably be in jail or something like that. I believe that he realized the kind of influence my neighbourhood had on my friends and obviously they would have some influence in me. Most of my childhood friends didn’t have fathers (or rather fathers who were involved). He forced me to go to a computer school on Saturdays and Sundays to stay away from the influence around me (This is where my love for computers started around 1996). I am fortunate enough to have had a father and a father that was involved in my life. Don’t get me wrong that dude sucked the fun out of anything fun but I get him now, I understand him now.

If you look at the people I grew up with in my area I am one of the few that doesn’t fit the township stereotype. I’m single, no baby, not in jail, not living in the hood, has a career etc. I’m not taking away my mothers contributions but my mother can’t (even today) teach me how to be a man. My dad introduced me hip-hop but clean hip-hop (Heavy D and Queen Latifah) he wouldn’t buy me all stars because they were associated with thugs. He grilled me once while we were driving to Nandos and I asked if he could please buy me a Bone Thugs n Harmony CD, he asked what is a thug? I had no idea what a thugs was at the time. He explained that he wouldn’t buy me a CD that will have bad influence on me.

I was really lucky because I experienced my dad for much longer than my siblings did and If he wasn’t present at all in my life — I believe I would’ve turned out differently. Completely different.