one of the hardest days of my 25 years so far.acd lenda ear?

cantona7 · Post by **cantona7** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 02:01 am

well as some of those close to me on this forum..those of you who i consider real legit and good friends..you may know my dads been battling cancer for the last 14 months. Well this morning at 5 am pacific standard time my dad lost this battle and passed away peacefully. He had been in a coma for the last 9 days. As i write this its 18:55 and hes only been gone for 13 hrs and 55 mins but it feels like ages, but the pain is so raw and present. I miss him a ton. I cant bring myself to look at a photo but i keep remembering the good times..like me smoking a blunt in nes while he enjoyed a cold gulpner or sitting in siberie smoking while listening to stories about how he smoked thai stick while in nam. I remember laughing with him last spring in the streets of hong kong,bangkok, saigon, beijing,etc when we went on or father/son trip. We had a rocky relationship at times..veery rocky but i still loved him and admired certains things about him and thats something i let him know the last night i saw him. My mom is hurting now too and even my brother. In conclusion id like to say thanks for letting me vent and thanks for reading my post.

Daniel Allen Smith
b. July 10, 1945- Santa Clara,Ca
d. October 29, 2009- Tacoma,wa

vetran
father
traveler
friend

bluelaru · Post by **bluelaru** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 02:08 am

Deeply Sorry for your loss

What great memories you have

Kermit · Post by **Kermit** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 02:21 am

Max respect to you!!

Balou · Post by **Balou** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 02:21 am

Sorry to hear about you loss. My thoughts are with you and your family.

Peace,
Balou

Saynt · Post by **Saynt** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 02:49 am

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

metal4mullets · Post by **metal4mullets** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 05:42 am

Damn

I'm extremely sorry to hear of this and my prayers are with you and the family.

It sounds like you had a very good relationship with your father. I know it sounds pretty hollow, but try and focus on those good times you both had together. I'm sure that is what he would want you to remember.

Losing a father is never easy. Personally, I can attest to this as I lost my father almost two years ago to a heart-attack and stroke. I'm also fairly young like you; I'll soon be turning 30. There have been so many times where I wished that I had more time with him. We didn't have that strong of a relationship, unfortunately...mostly due to my parents' divorce and his remarrying someone that treated me like total garbage growing up. This was also one of the factors that helped me in deciding to move half way across the country on my own at the young age of 21. For the rest of his life after my move I saw him maybe 2 or 3 times. Looking back I have to admit I regret not having attempted to reconcile with him.

Having said that, it sounds like you had some good times with your father. Focus on them and try and be thankful you could travel with him and share your interests and hobbies. The time you had, and the memories you made, were precious and can never be taken from you. Hold on to those and he'll always be there.

The sun will shine again, my friend. Take care of yourself.

Puffin13 · Post by **Puffin13** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 05:51 am

Sorry for the loss of your dad, Cantona! From one Nam vet to another, I salute him and his military service. You may have had rocky times (which happens a lot in families) but it also sounds like you and your dad had many shared experiences as well. Sounds to me like he was a pretty good father.
I think that it is important now for you, your mom & brother to be together and remember him and to give support to each other. Peace be with you, Cantona.

cantona7 · Post by **cantona7** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 06:12 am

thanks for the kind words guys.

metal: i defo can relate to you. get at me on msn,yahoo or aim if you wanna talk.

puffin: yea he was really proud of his service. someof his health problems were caused by agent orange. he was also one of the big wigs in the pow/mia issue and one of the first who brought the story to the usa with proof. one of his friends did a 51 day hunger strike to get the president involved.

BigRigRob · Post by **BigRigRob** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 06:51 am

My condolences bro.

Max Flower · Post by **Max Flower** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 07:37 am

Deepest sympathies Cantona.

We're here for you man.

extremepain · Post by **extremepain** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 08:26 am

Mike, as you know my prayers are with you and your family in this difficult time. Also know that what's mine is yours, all you need do is ask.

Daniel Allen Smith. A True MAN of Honor. It is also this Nation's Loss

I am at your disposal as you know,

dave

spidergawd · Post by **spidergawd** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 09:03 am

My Respect to a Guy who took OUR freedoms seriously and did what had to be done.
Bless you mate, and your Family.

Nice Dreams · Post by **Nice Dreams** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 09:49 am

Deepest sympathies to you man, that’s very sad.

gixxer · Post by **gixxer** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 10:01 am

my deepest sympathies to you and your family cantona.
lest we forget

Boner · Post by **Boner** » Fri 30th Oct 2009 10:23 am

My condolences, it's an old cliché but time is a great healer.