Yes, I suppose you could call my dad a character. Both of my parents were slightly unconventional for their time, when I think of it. One of my dad's fondest dreams was to visit back in Boston, with a cowboy hat and bolo tie on, when he got off of the plane. He did get to do this one year, when he came to join my mom and brother, who went to the Cape every year with my mom's family, after they moved to Az, and later, California. Unfortunately, when the shoe manufacturing business went south (literally) and then overseas, our familys' business closed. My dad worked for several years in the wholesale food business in Phoenix, which was great fun, in that I often got to go to restaurant openings, at a time when I couldn't afford to eat in any of them! But, once they moved to San Diego, which they loved, things were really bad for them, with a few good years in between. Although it was awesome to have family in San Diego when I lived in AZ, so I could escape the heat, in retrospect, they picked up and moved really quickly, when my dad lost his job in Az. If they had waited a little bit, even, I think things may have been different.
