CES: I started to build my tribute to Dad today. My father and mother meant more to me than anything. They both tried very hard to do the right thing and worked hard to stay above water. Their hard work meant my youth was safe, filled with family, and provided with most basics. There never were long trips when my brother, Erik, and I were growing up and I learned the reason was my father seldom had 2 consecutive days off. He managed larger retail stores in Southern Californa and he had learned what worked and what did not. He was very grounded and firm in his principles. He had alot of trial and error when he was a teenager and young man after losing his own father when he was 13 years old in 1940. His principles made me want to also do the right thing, especially if he insisted on a result from his own experiences. Rebellion never entered my head. He became his own man and a leader in business so I was able to attain a college education and not have to work as hard as he did. He always said, "A education is something that no one can take away from you." They started the Coast-to-Coast hardware store in Scotts Valley in 1970 when I was freshman at Santa Clara University and they commuted from San Jose the first few years. I had left California for an engineeing job in Washington State in 1973 when I graduated from college. So, I missed most of the the hard years when they developed their business. Those years were rewarded with the friendships and memories of the Scotts Valley Moose Lodge, the spectacular years of the SF 49er games in the 1980s, and many trips and cruises. Bavaria, Scandanavia, and Hawaii seemed to be the re-occurring themes that both my parents enjoyed. They always shared some mementos from those trips with me and my young family. Their retirement years starting in 1995 and relocation to Paso Robles were okay at first. Then in 2002 when my mother's health starting failing very fast, I was torn with many pulling circumstances in my life that prevented me from being with Mom & Dad more often. This was even more difficult for Dad. I will regret it forever. I will be adding entries of my relationship with Dad as time goes by. (CES)