Courtney Goodman

P-3A AP English Literature

9/26/10

Meaningful glances fill empty stomachs as reality sets back in. Feasts of baked beans satisfy hungry boys, their mother goes without supper in the next room. Tragic blue eyes take in the world around him and find their place. My father didn’t have a fortunate Eden. A deep respect for the intellectual and rich determination classifies him as a single as a single word in the hearts of his children: hero.

At the exuberant age of seventeen, while other enjoyed midnight excursions David Goodman was joining the United States Marines. Living by his own means and will he was able to establish himself as an individual early on and see the world. Throughout his twenty year career Goodman’s scope of the world and its vibrant cultures opened his eyes to the unique human experience. In spite of his conservative background he married a Jamaican woman, a testament to inner change that evolved him constantly.

It is said that beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. As a father and a man Goodman instilled in his daughters the knowledge that to be truly beautiful it must be on all levels of themselves, mind, body, and soul. True beauty lies in passion for what one pursues so faithfully. In ones purpose. The only life is a fulfilled one, so find what it is that makes you feel alive. For if you intend to do it for the next forty years it should make you happy.

“Pursue some path, however narrow and crooked, in which you can walk with love and reverence.”-Henry David Thoreau. Philosophies come in all shapes and sizes often in the most unexpected of ways. The same can be said of heroes. Of all the superheroes, mythical monsters, and epic warriors of time long past my hero was always right at my side. A loving father with the best of intentions. Maybe not the most unique essay, but a lifelong friend.