Always Daddy's Girl (On the 1st Death Anniversary of J.M. Taylor, November 20, 2011)

CEBU, Philippines - Much has been said about the bond of fathers and daughters. I can attest to this; I am in many ways my father’s daughter. He instilled in me my love for pets, literature, my semi vegetarianism, my weird health ideas…the list goes on and on. I even look the most like him.

Of course, my father John M. Taylor was a calm soul. I on the other hand am feisty, a genetic trait I believe I inherited from my paternal grandmother. (As well as her fondness for alcohol, but I digress.)

As a child growing up in the 70s I watched my dad embrace the transcendental meditation (TM) movement. As an eight-year-old entering a room that reeked of incense and carrying an offering of fruits, I cannot even begin to describe how bizarre it all seemed. So, our teacher or guru or whatever he was, gave us each our mantra to chant. He said that we should practice meditating even if it meant being late for school. Uh huh. My sister, brother and I were all told not to divulge our mantra. So of course we shared this immediately and found out it was all the same, ohm. Disillusioned and blasé, we decided that was it for TM.

We spent many Sundays sailing in Buyong, Mactan, on my dad’s beloved hobie craft. Most times we were stranded, waiting to be rescued since the winds had shifted. And being my pale self, I would be nursing awful sunburns. But it was always so much fun, despite it all.

My dad was always quirky, and super cool. Whatever the latest trend was, he would be researching and trying it out. He spent a few months trying to remember phone numbers from some book he read wherein you attach alpha letters to their numeric equivalents, so someone’s phone number would be, say, “rosebush”. Of course, he was so busy memorizing the number and the equivalent, he forgot whose number it was he was trying to remember!

My dad loved Halloween and would always come up with the most unique costumes and invariably ended up winning at Country Club’s Halloween party.

My dad loved music, and I grew up listening to Ole Blue Eyes and Cole Porter. My love for classic movies was also because of him. Hence my favorite movie of all time is Casablanca.

As I got older, we swapped novels as he had a great fondness for the written word. He would always be writing columns, speeches, etc. A trait I hope I inherited in some ways.

I could go on and on about my father; his presidency of Amcham (the American Chamber of Commerce in Cebu), as well as the many friends he made over the years, on and off the golf course.

In the later years, dad found out he had Parkinson’s Disease and, in his typical manner, he researched on non-traditional medicine.  He believed that he would develop a dependency on the medication and intended to refuse to take it. Of course, I panicked and called a close family doctor to try to convince him. He then embarked on a study of Reiki and other Eastern methods.

But sadly, Parkinson’s took control and in the last years of his life, my dad was a prisoner of his body. I can only imagine how tough that was for him, his mind being as sharp as ever but not being able to communicate.

I will forever be grateful for the six months I spent with him before he passed away, bringing my Labrador Tyrell to visit his “grandpa”.

My dad will be greatly missed, but the bond will always be there. As I go through photos of him, it is always so tough not to get teary eyed. Yet I know he’s in a better place.

This is for you, dad!

* * *

John was an excellent orator, a humorous speaker among Toastmasters colleagues, a loyal friend and a lovable human being. I was enriched by his friendship.