Number 1

My father was my hero. He was bigger than life, and in my eyes, he could do anything! While I was growing up I loved listening to his many stories about life on the farm, his years at Emporia State Teacher's College and West Point, meeting and courting my mother, World War II, and life in the Air Force.

Dad was a great storyteller and a gifted writer. He was famous for his poems, Christmas cards, and lengthy monthly letters, sent to family and friends worldwide. His letters covered everything from family news, travel tales, his views on politics and national and world events, and pearls of wisdom. While I was in college I took a course entitled "The History of Women". One of my assignments was to write a paper on the history of the women in my family. I got most of the information from interviewing my Auntie Gay (Grace Penn Wright) who was my mother's Aunt. She died shortly afterwards and I've always been so grateful that all of that family history didn't die with her. As a result, I started encouraging Dad to write an autobiographical book to insure that the Vlcek family history would live on in posterity for future generations to enjoy. Every time I brought up the idea, he would dismiss it and humbly say that no one cared about his life or the stories he had to share. However, I am my father's daughter, and inherited his stubbornness and persistence. I didn't give up, and continued to pester Dad until he agreed to give it a try. Once he got started he thoroughly enjoyed himself. Whenever I went home to visit he would show me his latest chapters and ask what I thought. The book project brought us much closer and gave me the opportunity to have many long and memorable conversations with him.