Nobody has influenced me as much as my father.
Despite the best of my intentions, I constantly find myself measuring up against him. Most of the time, I’m not even conscious that I’m doing it. Consciously, I’m measuring myself up against Dennis Prager (and losing very badly).
Dad and I very alike. Of the three kids, I’m the most like dad. I have his tendencies towards ideological devotion, but I’ve made very different choices than he did.
In his teens, my father chose against journalism and for God.
At 23, I chose to dedicate myself to God and then found myself to my chagrin, pursuing something very different much of the time, well, honestly, most of the time, I found myself pursuing a cult of myself.
I had a wise asian girlfriend who told me when I was 23, “the more you try to be different from your father, the more you will be like him.”
A different girl, four years later, when I asked her if I was like my father, told me, “he’s not as pompous.”
