CNY Inspirations: My father, the almost-priest

This feature is coordinated by The Post-Standard, Syracuse.com and InterFaith Works of CNY. Follow this theme and author posted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
My dad almost became a Catholic priest. He even went to seminary school. Eventually, he dropped out (which I’m ecstatic about, as I wouldn’t exist if he didn’t). However, he never needed that tiny white collar to teach about goodness.
Most of us do not need a classroom to learn. For example, he taught confirmation classes when I was a senior in high school, and I would come downstairs for a snack to find kids from my high school in a circle in my living room with their eyes closed listening to Grateful Dead or Jethro Tull on the record player.
What the heck, dad? I would roll my eyes and run back upstairs. However – those kids? Those kids showed up at my dad’s house the following year when his favorite musician Jerry Garcia died, to check on him. It had worked. They all came out confirmed, cooler, and kinder for it.
See, you can always revise your dreams and still make a difference. Amen.
Tara Slater works at Syracuse University and the Reformed Church of Syracuse. Besides her family, two of her favorite people are Oprah Winfrey and Snoop Dogg and she is working hard on becoming a snowbird. She is rooting for you to try something new.