Father, son find more quality time in Iraq

Father, son find more quality time in Iraq
By James Warden, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Sunday, June 15, 2008


Q-WEST, Iraq —–Spc. Mathew Williams can still recall the best garage sale discovery his father ever made.

Mathew, his two brothers and his dad, Sgt. Terryll Williams, were driving in a pickup when the eldest Williams said it sure would be cool if he could find a mini-motorcycle for $150.

Terryll has an uncanny sense for garage sales and enjoys spending his free time scouting for the best items. Within minutes, the group stumbled on one with a motorcycle exactly as Terryll had imagined. He haggled the owner down to $100 and still has the bike to this day.

That recollection is one of the all-too-few memories that 20-year-old Mathew has with his father. Terryll left his sons’ lives when Mathew was about 5 — taking care of his son through child support instead of hugs and driving lessons in that old pickup.

At first, he saw his children once a week. But Terryll, now 51, was a truck driver, and those visits soon dropped off to maybe once every couple of months, sometimes for as little as a half-hour. They got along well during their brief visits, but it wasn’t enough. Mathew grew up without his dad, and Terryll grew older without his son.

Several months ago, Mathew, a member of the Indiana National Guard, called his dad to tell him that he planned to volunteer for Iraq with a buddy from college.
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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=55569

Great story for Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there.

Convention for NAMI is still going on and I don't want to forget to offer this wish to some amazing men in my life! (online life and in real life)