Longinus Jan Zima and Spring

Up here in the cold North, Spring is a day to celebrate. We love the season changes, the Hot Summer days in the garden, the colors and fruits of Fall, the beauty of Winter, but especially the rebirth of the world in Spring. As we gets older, we enjoys the Winter less ant the Spring more!

In my family, the first day of spring always brought cake and ice cream! Oh, not for Spring, that meant working the garden, but because, back in 1912, the first day of Spring was also the first day for Longinus Jan Zima, Sr., my father. On a dusty small farm in Nebraska with one cow, he learned some hard life lessons. When the family moved to Geneva,Ohio where he learned some more, but had some very good times too. Eventually, he grew up met a wonderful, beautiful lady (a good work horse), married, and caused 5 of us to come into the world.

Dad sacrificed his own dreams and advancement for his children. Even before he married he was a giver. He graduated a year late, because he worked half a day to help support the family. He did not go to college but worked in the WPA to help out.

After he married and we all started coming, he gave up a career as a singer so that his children would not have to move, go hungry and to keep us out of a business where it was so easy to slip up and go to hell. He gave up promotions in the insurance business (which he was hot real fond of anyway) so that we would not have to move. Mom and Dad re-re-re-re-re-re-mortgaged the house they build by hand (with the help of friends and the oldest two kids) to send each of us to catholic schools and to send some assistance while we were at college, esp. myself as I was the only one not ambitious enough to study hard and get a scholarship, however, all five of us have college degrees and even advanced degrees because our parents love education and knew it was the way.

Mom and Dad sacrificed their lives and dreams so that the dreams of their children would have a chance. That is the way of good parents. Dad use to say, "Shoot for the stars because, if you miss you might still hit the moon. If you just shoot for the moon, you might just hit the ground."

They are both reborn now, and can see and hear everything we do. I pray we still make them proud.

And, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!