My Father

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Page 7

IN MY OPINION (Column)

My Father

By NICHOLAS A. TRUTANICH

(The writer is an assistant U.S. attorney. He is the son of Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, who is profiled tomorrow in a special “Persons of the Year” section. The following was submitted by the author’s mother; in looking for vintage photos of her husband for the special issue, she came across the following opinion piece, a hand-written essay submitted by young Nicholas in his childhood, in response to a class assignment. Reflecting as it does on the city office-holder’s root qualities, it is pertinent today.)

It took me just two seconds to decide the person about who I should write. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest men that has ever lived. That person is my dad.

My dad is intelligent, strong, loving, and persistent, he is probably more persistent than anyone I know. His favorite saying is, “Don’t quit, anybody can quit, keep trying.” My dad never quits. If he can’t figure something out he keeps trying until he gets it right. I think that is the quality about him I like most.

He has had a life of tremendous experiences. He has played almost every sport and some at the highest levels. He has three different college degrees, a bachelor’s of science, a master’s of business administration, and a juris doctorate. He is sort of a self-made man, in that he worked all through high school and college. He started working in the 7th grade at a neighborhood grocery store. He would attend school, then practice and then go to work till midnight or 2 a.m., 5 or 6 days a week. I am always amazed when I think about what he did just to get through school, especially since he graduated number two in his law school class. His life is a tribute to what one can accomplish if you have desire [and] persistence....When my dad talks, I listen; just like when E.F. Hutton speaks. He has the ability to find solutions to all my problems.

Probably the reason I admire him most is because he talks to me. We talk about everything, girls, friends, school, his life, my life, everything. He is my best friend, my closest confidant and my teacher rolled up in one person, one thing about my dad is he doesn’t demand my respect, he has earned it by being a great dad.

The world could turn into sea soup, but my dad would make it right. One time during a basketball game, we were trailing the entire game. In the last quarter we had to play with 4 players, because everyone had fouled out. We started to fall really behind, the coach called time out. He sat us down on the bench and told us he believed in us, whether we win or lose. He believed in each of us, and that if we believe in each other, we can’t help but be successful. Then our coach told us specifically what we had to do. We won! The coach was my dad. His strong faith in me and my teammates lifted us to play at a higher level.

I love him because of who he is. I respect him because of what he has accomplished and I listen to him because of what he knows. I guess I’m truly lucky, I hope I grow up to be half the man my Pop is.