My dad was tough and strict, quite the taskmaster, but he adored his family and I always knew we were his first priority.

My dad was a pharmacist in the local drug store. Everyone in the neighborhood knew him. It always made me so proud when someone would ask me if I was "Mike the druggist's daughter".

Because he worked retail hours, he was home one day during the week. That was "our day", and he used to take me to the Bronx Zoo several times a month. Back then they had the "Big Cat House", all of them in cages. There was a tiger named Dakkar and he convinced me it was MY tiger and that Dakkar knew me when I came to the zoo.

Speaking of weddings, PB, when I danced to "Daddy's Little Girl" with my dad at my wedding, I bawled like a baby and totally humiliated myself. I lost him 20 years ago, and there are still times that I miss him so much, it's like a physical blow.

BTW, he loved The Godfather films, and he would have loved this site.