Interesting perscpective. My dad wasn't all that, either, but at least he was around. My step-father, on the other hand, was a loud, boisterious braggart. (my dad died last February, my step in May) Also, you write about an '80s dad.' Mine was a '60s dad.' He was OK, fun to be around, but not very supportive, either (at least in terms of support for my mother and siblings). I wrote a few years ago, 'we should all be six and happy.' Fifty-eight years later, that still holds true.