There are a wide range of reasons. Not the least of which is that he was a kind, decent human being.
Patient, kind, funny, generous and smart. He taught me lots of things, mostly through example.
But lately I have been thankful for the fact that back in 1974-75 when we (my parents) were deciding between immigrating to the U.S. or Canada (where all else things were equal) but for Universal Healthcare, my dad decided to come to Canada.
This is not a small deal. Overall, Canada is far more similar in attitudes and culture with Greece than the U.S. One key difference I have witnessed over the decades, immigrants in Canada often refer to themselves as "________Canadian". e.g. in my case it would be "Greek-Canadian", whereas my U.S. relatives are "American- Greeks" if they bother with the "Greek" part at all.
In Canada we refer to ourselves as a mosaic, in the U.S. they are a "melting pot".
But lately, the thing I am most grateful for, is Universal Healthcare.
We have been here now 40 years, In the first 35 or so, I hardly used the system, except for when absolutely necessary, like childbirth and such, but otherwise, always was healthy and resilient and was brought up to not abuse the system.
But with age (and lifestyle choices) come health repercussions, and the last 5 or so have been challenging, and unfamiliar in terms of navigating the healthcare system.
The thing that I am noticing is how much I didn't have to worry about the cost of my surgeries, in hospital stays, medications, etc. As well as follow up appointments, specialists, tests, more tests, more specialists, etc. You get the picture. None of which (including a week long stay in a semi-private room) did I have to pay a cent out of pocket. When I needed strong pain medication post surgery, I didn't think or worry about how much the morphine drip cost.
So, on this Father's Day, I say a heart felt, deep "THANK YOU DAD" for choosing Canada as our home.
