I have a habit of keeping my phone on airplane mode to conserve battery life because at work the signal is so sparse that most of the time I can't get a signal. And I normally forget to take it off of airplane mode at the end of the day.

This habit has taken away any chance I have to speak to my father again. He had been battling melanoma for some time now, and for the passed couple of days his girlfriend had been trying to contact me, and she couldn't get through because of that damned habit. Out of a pure whim, I took my phone off of airplane mode at the end of the day today, and received the news of my father's passing.

He and I weren't exactly close ... but he's my father. I never really knew when his birthday was, and I found out that he had just turned 60 a day or so ago, and I'd missed it. It was my last chance to talk to him and now I'll never have another chance ever again.

Goodnight ...