Saying that I have the best dad in the whole world not only sounds like a bad hallmark card, but is the understatement of the century. Not only is he hip, stylish, and incredibly funny (I am so proud to have inherited his sense of humor) but I don't know anyone with a more loving and understanding father. Who else gets a dozen roses upon their first period from their dad?
He has always been the stricter of my parents. He was always the one to tell me my clothes weren't appropriate for school (and not without reason) and always the one to call and make sure there were parents where I was going. Man, that peeved me when I was a teenager, but as I grew into a young adult I realized he was being a fabulous parent and showing just how precious I am to him. He was a textbook good parent. I was only allowed a half an hour of TV a day (which I brag about today) and he read me bedtime stories every night he wasn't playing a gig. Perhaps his dedication to reading me these wonderful stories was part of the reason I excelled in school and will graduate from college almost a full year early.
When I headed to college from high school I decided I wanted to make movies. I took the classes necessary and it didn't dawn on me until almost a year and a half that I was sort of following in his footsteps. The path I was attracted to led me to not only be able to work for him, but be an invaluable member of his team and teach him some things — although not as much as he's taught me over the years.
When I see how proud of me he is, I just beam with pleasure. The fact is, I am proud of him to! I love to brag about my rock star dad. I tell lots of people I meet about him. When I turned 20, I got a fake ID and my parents took me to see this obscene rock band and even paid for the drinks and cab! He can also recite Rumi poetry off the top of his head at just the right moments — that is so rad. A lot of times when he's helping me move around the dorms (he is always willing to drop everything and help me) my new roommates will think he is my boyfriend. Once a girl in one of my classes got a crush on him. Some girls might think that is weird, but my dad and I's relationship is so great that it doesn't bother me.
Both of my parents are so cool that I love to bring my friends to parties with them. Two of my girlfriend's and I went to a friend's party with them and the five of us took tequila shots together. One of the girls I brought couldn't stop talking about how awesome that was for weeks.
My dad has also forced me to watch some of the coolest films and actors from a young age, like David Lynch's "Eraserhead", Roman Polanski's "Repulsion" and Steve Buscemi movies (although I wasn't allowed to watch movies like "Reservoir Dog's" until later). He also introduced me to the Marx brothers, Monty Python, and the "exploding whale/farting evangelist" tape. Man, he is so cool. He has great taste in film. He does watch too much MTV and VH1 these days though. Yuck. No one can top my dad. I hope I can marry a man like him some day.
The End.
See Laura's first animation project: Bondage
See Laura's Captain Chaotica Treatment
Devil or Angel?
