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| 1957 Jack (left), Rik (Right) |
September 21, 2024
By Rik Olmsted
Dad guided me my entire life and I wanted to be just like him. He was my role model. He was always there when I reached out to him. He never tired of teaching and directing me.
I wish I had followed his direction more as my life would have turned out better. He advised me to buy a house which I regret not doing. He advised me to invest in the stock market – I didn’t do that. He told me to start investing early in a retirement plan – now I wish I had listened to him.
He also taught me how to play tennis as a child which I am so grateful for. He coached me throughout my life, right up until the end. I am going to miss his guidance. He was my coach, my practice and doubles partner, and my best friend. We enjoyed many years of playing doubles together. The last few years we would show up at Howarth Park or La Cantera and challenge anyone and everyone to a match.
Our specialty was playing the ladies in a match to the death. Most of the time we were victorious.
Dad was a master of shot making and strategy. He had a wicked drop shot that drove even the fastest runners crazy. And he would be coaching me the whole time.
In the end, Dad went out the way he lived, with intelligence, independence, courage and unwavering strength. I was so proud of him as he sang his way toward the gates of Heaven. It was as if he marched forward bravely, with sword raised high, to storm the castle and defeat the enemy. He was my hero and showed me how to live and to die. I’m going to miss him.
Verse 1
In a quiet room with dim lit lights,
I recall the words you spoke that night,
Your voice a slow, jazzy hum so clear,
Guiding me through every doubt and fear.
You said, “Son, life’s a long winding road,
With lessons that only the heart can hold.
I missed a father’s steady hand once in my youth,
So I’ll be here to share the honest truth.”
Chorus
Oh, how I miss your guiding hand,
In every shadow, on every land,
You taught me how to live, to love, to play—
Your wisdom echoes more each day.
I’m haunted by the things I left undone,
Regret whispers in the setting sun,
But in your smile, I still see my way,
Singing soft tunes of yesterday.
Verse 2
You taught me tennis on courts of green,
Under sunlit skies, where dreams convene.
At Howarth Park, at La Cantera’s call,
We danced with life, never fearing a fall.
Our doubles match against the world so wild,
Every drop shot was your secret style.
In the game of life, you were my coach, my friend,
Now the silence sings as your journey finds its end.
Bridge
I should have listened, oh, I should have seen,
When you spoke of buying a house, of futures keen,
Investing in dreams, starting early for tomorrow—
Now I bear regret like a deep, unhealed sorrow.
Yet as you marched toward Heaven’s golden gate,
With courage, strength, and a heart innate,
You sang your farewell with a warrior’s grace,
Leaving memories that time cannot erase.
Chorus
Oh, how I miss your guiding hand,
In every whisper of the wind, every grain of sand,
You were my hero, my best friend in life—
A gentle coach in both joy and strife.
Now I wander these days with your song in my soul,
Remembering each lesson that made me whole,
In every swing of the racket, in every fading light,
I feel you beside me, through every lonely night.
Outro
So here’s to you, Dad, as I softly sing,
A tribute to the guidance you always did bring,
I’ll carry your legacy in every step I take,
For in my heart, your love will never break.
