Tom Loved His Little Girl

During our friendship and my years volunteering at Challenge, Tom would talk often about his little girl Lindsay, but it wasn't until I saw them together that I realized how much she meant to him. Tom used to tell me stories about his trips with Lindsay (he was always giddy when he told them): how he took her mountain biking (she was in the cart attached) on trails throughout Girdwood and the pennsulia, how he would take her for rides on the kick sled, and he would say stuff like "I have to drive to town today and play in the traffic but I'm taking Lindsay so it's ALL Goood!"... I thought that it was very cool that he loved spending time with his kid so much but it just seemed like a normal connection between father and daughter, until I went to eat at the old Chineese restaurant next to the Merc with my friends. We walked in and were seated right across from Tom, who was having a special dinner with Lindsay. He greeted us in the normal excited Tom fashion, we talked a bit about what a great day it was on the mountain, but after that it was all about Lindsay for Tom. Lindsay was in a high chair accross from him, trying to feed herself and being half way successful. Tom, although he seemed a bit tired after a long day, stared at her with a the biggest grin on his face, laughing lovingly at almost every miss she made but it was always followed up by words of encouragement. The times that she was successful, from Tom's reaction, you would have thought that Lindsay just won an Olympic Gold. He was also constantly pointing at things and sounding the words out for her, talking to her about the day and what they will do when they get home, and he even sang a little song for her at one point. When it was time to go, Tom picked Lindsay up out of the high chair, looked into her eyes, and gave her the biggest hug in the world... It was easy to see that this little one meant everything in the world to him.
Stacy (Anchorage)