I had not seen this thread over the 4th of July holiday..... thanks for bringing it back up, dano ... unfortunately, my father passed away (cancer) at the age of 65, one year after he retired ... as I am now 61, I realize just how young he was ... thinking back, my father was always the ROCK of the family ... no matter what the problem, people called on "Frank" to help them out, and he never refused... I regret the fact that my children, who were 12 and 9 at the time of his death never really got to know him.... while admittedly having no musical talent, he urged me on to study an instrument, and I know how proud he was whenever I played, especially if he was able to book my band for some kind of social function ... he showed me how to be strong, gentle, tough, considerate, all at the same time ... and when he was 40 yrs old,, working out every night to pass a NYC physical exam for a job, he showed me that whatever the odds, if you want something enough to sacrifice for it, you can attain it ... it was 24 yrs last month since he left this world, and I still think of him just about every day, and often find myself asking "how would Dad have handled this" ... I didn't tell him often enough how much I loved him, but I think he knew ... and I miss him ...