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The prince of darkness.

My dad came home for Christmas. It was the only present worth getting.

He went out of his way to arrange transportation for his group--renting vans to take them and their bags to the airport--when the other leaders did not. He stayed up late trying to make sure everyone was accounted for before making his own travel arrangements. He tried to use his frequent flier miles to get tickets for other people. And when everything was done, his group was leaving for the airport while the other groups struggled to find taxis.

"They have a nickname for me," he told me. "They call me 'The Prince of Darkness.'" He manages to get into all of the important meetings and pulls strings so that his group always ends up on top with the best arrangements, equipment, and assignments. Nobody seems to know how he does it, just that he does.

He's home now, but he's leaving again soon.

I sometimes wonder if he ever thinks about himself. I wonder if he ever finds the time to do that.

Comments

Ashley said…
What does your dad do for a living?
Gabe said…
He's an architect for IBM but he's deploying in a few days to Afghanistan.

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