My Dad is a real Texas cowboy. He is also an electrical engineer, a classical pianist, a computer whiz, and a Biblical scholar (reading the New Testament in Greek). But he wouldn't brag about any of that, and he would be unhappy with me if I told you he is the most genuinely humble person I know.

I learned my love of the outdoors from my Dad. When he left the ranch to work for an electric utility in the big city, he wanted to spend his vacation time in the wild. Most of our family vacations were to national parks where we hiked and rode horses. Many evenings after dinner, my Dad, my sister and I would take long bicycle excursions always looking for parks or bits of land that hadn't been developed yet.

My Dad has a great love of learning. Every night at dinner he would ask my sister and me, "What did you learn at school today?" He expected an answer, and I began to see that even in a day I considered boring, I had always learned something. Often a fact my sister or I had learned developed into a family discussion around the table and ended with my Dad looking for more detail in the encyclopedia.

He cautioned me against going after change for the sake of change; however he is open to a new idea that has substance and merit. Most of my boyfriends had trouble holding up their end of a conversation with my Dad. I began to look seriously at the man who would later become my husband when he and my Dad both enjoyed talking to each other.

My Dad is a man of few words, but the words he says are worth listening to. I will emulate him just say: I love you, Dad.