Happy Birthday to my dad!

So its not quite my Dad's birthday yet, but this October 10th he will be 83 years old. He was born 14 days before the stock market crashed in 1929.  Its still kind surreal considering I have some older friends whose GRAND parents are not yet even in their eighties, but you know I think its kept my Dad young having two more kids later in life ( except where I drive him crazy, then maybe not so much).
    I remember very distinctly as a child in stores or at school functions where people would assume he was my Grandfather, and not really understanding that to most people he looked older ( to me he always looked that way ) . Most people say, "wow"  when I tell them how old he is. Its very hard for me to believe he was 56 when I was born and had a full life when I even came into the picture. My father's life before that is somewhat a mystery to me, just what I have gleaned from my sisters and a few photographs (though one of his sisters did tell me he set a field on fire as a child). Its seems especially odd as most people who knew him from younger in life know him as a different person (he didn't even like cats back then..and I haven't seen him without a cat next to him in years).
  But who is my dad? He's my fixer, my go-to guy. A lot of people says he is very aloof, not very sociable, but really that couldn't be more wrong. He is just so sensitive and I think kind of shy, though woe to the salesperson who calls at dinnertime. He doesn't have many friends, but the ones he does he keeps forever. He's a war veteran, a widower, a father of four children and stepfather to two more. He has been married to my mother for 28 years now, thought they raised some eyebrows considering their 17 year age difference.
  Again, most people consider him pretty gruff, but to me he has a wonderfully loving heart, even though he does tend to express it in his limited way...he will rarely say goodbye when ending a phone call, but will randomly throw out an "I love you", but he cried tears when he thought his weak legs would prevent him from walking me down the aisle or he met Eden for the first time.  Happy Birthday Dad, I love you too.