Nick the Welder

Recently, a reader asked me what or who inspired me as a child to write. This question made me pause and reflect on my childhood, and specifically on one person, my Dad, who was most known in our community as Nick the Welder.

My dad was a welder my entire life. He was well known in Youngstown as the guy who could weld anything.

-You needed your car worked on? My dad was your guy.

- You needed some random piece of metal welded? My dad was your guy.

-Couldn't afford to pay for your car for a week or two? My dad had you covered.

Nick worked a lot. As a small business owner, my dad worked 12+ hour days, sometimes six days a week. There were a few exceptions to his work: church on Sundays, and fishing on his boat, The Blue Haven, in the summers.

I would hustle as a kid to help make sure our boat was ready to go for a quick weekend trip to Lake Erie, where the goal was to bring home as many Walleye as possible.

Since my dad was a bona fide workaholic, it meant he missed most school functions and milestones in my life. For a while, as a young adult, I was bitter about this. But now that I'm a tad older, and dare I say a bit wiser, I see both sides of the life of a workaholic.

Although he did miss many of my core memories as a kid, he was always willing to listen to me talk his ear off on the drive to Lake Erie, or after church on Sunday's when we would sit at the kitchen table eating our fresh pepperoni rolls from the Italian Bakery (literally that was the name of the place!) and sipping on his afternoon coffee.

He pushed me always to be better than the person I was at the time. Whether it was with my grades in school, reading more, writing more, or practicing my speeches for competitive speech, he always had something to say that kept me moving forward.

-He taught me that I could do whatever I wanted in life. But it would come with a cost.

-He taught me that I had better be ready to work hard and not accept handouts.

-He taught me not to settle for anything less than greatness.

And when I decided at the age of 17 to join the Army, I watched his chest swell with pride.

Although he may have missed those milestones when I was growing up, that all changed once I joined the Army. My parents were with me the day I raised my right hand and took the oath to defend our Country and our Constitution.

They were there when I graduated from Basic and Advanced Individual Training.

And when I came home from Iraq, my dad was there along with Milo, Alesandra, and my mom to welcome me home.

I never shared with my dad Emily's story that was locked away in my head after I returned home from Iraq. In fact, other than a few war stories, I never shared a ton with my dad. I didn't want him to see me as weak for not being able to manage the trauma from the war. I couldn't let the man, whose chest was always puffed out when I was in uniform, know I was struggling on the inside.

My dad, Nick the Welder, passed away in May of 2016.

I didn't start writing the Always Forward series until 2019.

In the series, Edward- Emily's dad- is dedicated to my dad. And Tara's boyfriend, Nick, is also an ode to my dad.

I regret never sharing my book idea with my dad, because I know he would have encouraged me to write it sooner. But we can't live our lives with regret, so instead, I like to think that he was with me all along.

-Pushing me to keep writing.

-Pushing me to keep going.

-Pushing me always to move forward.