Twisted Lemons

As much as we bumped heads there's nothing I wouldn't give to lock horns again.  To hear you laugh at my latest screw-up and laugh back at you when you tell me how you did the same thing twice. To marvel at how ridiculous you could be before realizing I might be worse. To get mad when I call you after not talking for week and you rush me off the phone or just hang up in my face.  To call and say, "MAN FUCK YOU!!! ", knowing that's just how we say "I LOVE YOU. " and that anybody that overheard would never understand. Nobody had the ability to destroy a good day with a simple phone call quite like you because nobody could tell me what I was doing wrong quite like you. You simplified the complex and showed me how. You broke bad news to me with ease and humor and showed me how. You filled a room with your presence and showed me how. You showed me what to do while doing what I shouldn't. You were my hero and once you passed I found out that I might have been yours. You told me to pack my shit and get as far away from Watts as I could. You pushed me out of the hood and into my dreams. I was blessed to have you in my life.  Blessed to be disciplined by you. Blessed to watch you fuck-up and hear you tell me not to be like you but to be better. Blessed to learn from you and be lucky enough to have a father that was open and willing to learn from me. I am now everything you were and trying my hardest to be everything you couldn't be because that is what you worked so hard for me to do. You are the reason I dig deep and strive to make sure everyone knows Bruce Allan Lemon Sr. may have been a bad motherfucker but version 2.0 is a force to be reckoned with. As I got older you couldn't pass on your shoes because my feet got too big but you took mine with a smile because you knew you made me bigger than you.  No matter what I did great you reminded me I still wasn't shit while unsuccessfully hiding how proud you were. Well played. I see your game clear, Dad. You knew what you were doing. They don't teach Lemon in schools but they damn sure should. I had the best teacher ever and I realized it too late. You hit me, you teased me, you made me feel small because you were grooming me for a world capable of much worse. You held me, you loved me, you made me feel big so I can do the same for others. You gave me the skin of a dragon and the heart of a lion. You made me a monster.
Like Father, Like Son.
Thank you.
Enjoy the show.
We're just getting started and you have birds eye view on all the action.
Happy Birthday, Father. I miss you.