Copyright ©2010. The Associated Press. Produced by NewsOK.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
•A vision of love
Richard Amend wrote a lie.
But it turned out to be a blueprint.
Standing in front of a seventh-grade English class, he started reading his essay on "What my dad means to me.”
Multimedia
More Info
The Amend family pose for a portrait on June 4. From left back: Dillon, Donnie, Cecilia, Casey. Front: T.J., Richard, Haley
BY AMY RYMER, THE OKLAHOMAN
Richard Amend
Age: 59
Hometown: Oklahoma City.
Job: Mission director at Saint Ann Retirement Center.
Family: Wife, Cecilia Amend, 65. Sons, William Amend, 31; Dustin Amend, 29; Travis, 27. Grandchildren, Donnie Amend, 16; Casey Amend, 10; Dillon Amend, 7; Haley Amend, 4; T.J. Amend, 2.
Challenges: "We're older and our energy levels are not as great as they were 25 years ago when we were raising our children. I think our philosophy is to live one day at a time, because if we live much over that, it becomes overwhelming.”
NewsOK Related Articles
-
A Tale of 3 Dads
06/15/2008 No matter how different dads are, most still have some things in common. They want their kids to be more successful than they were. They want them to grow up...
-
Autry knife brings back memories of time with dad
06/15/2008 A Gene Autry pocket knife. Of all the gifts I gave my dad for various holidays, the one I remember most was the Gene Autry pocket knife I bought at a Cowboy...
-
Art, understanding form lifelong bond
06/15/2008 CORN — Paraplegic Matt Robinson had no mother, no father and no grandparents. He had no one except Bob Taylor, a photographer and neighbor who befriended...
-
•A family route
06/15/2008 ON INTERSTATE 44, EAST — Edward Sallee was conceived in the back of his father's truck 14 years ago — and since that day he's gotten most of his...
-
•A young father
06/15/2008 The fireplace in Matías Menis' home in Norman is blocked by the likes of Pooh Bear, Mickey Mouse, Garfield and Clifford the Big Red Dog. Above it, a...
He tried. He really tried. Then he crumbled. Tears flowed, shoulders sagged, head dropped. It was a lie.
As he celebrates Father's Day more than 45 years later, he can see that it was actually a blueprint for being a father to three adopted sons and now five adopted grandchildren despite never really knowing his own father.
Richard Amend, now 59, was 3 years old when his father, Carl Amend, had a heart attack and died on Good Friday. He never really talked about it. Sure, he thought about what he didn't have, a father to go fishing with, a father to tell him what tools are used for building or fixing different things or a father whose lap he could sit in while reading the newspaper.
But he kept it in, until that seventh-grade assignment.
"I just made the whole thing up and yet I felt what I was writing was true,” he said. "I didn't realize that when we got to school, we would have to get up in front of the whole class and read it.
"And then as I read that, it really hit me hard that I had lost my dad. I just broke down crying, and the teacher didn't even know my dad had died.”
The essay told of a wonderful dad who spent time doing things with Amend, his mother Zelma and his four siblings.
"Again, I made the whole thing up,” he said.
News Photo Galleriesview all
Prev
If you prefer your thoughts to appear in The Oklahoman, we encourage you to submit a letter to the editor.
Would you like to leave a comment?
Log in or sign up (it's free).