King Albert of Liege, Belgium

Growing up, my Father was the parent who taught me most everything domestic. While my Mother was working diligently in school, getting her two Masters degrees and her Doctorate, my Dad and I took care of our home in suburban Northern New Jersey. In between schlepping Mom back and forth across the great Hudson River to Columbia University, Dad patiently taught me how to do laundry, iron my own clothes, and vacuum our shag carpeting with lines that rivaled the grass at Yankee Stadium. I learned how to wear a tool belt and tinker with appliances. I footed the extension ladder while Dad climbed into the autumn leaves to clean the gutters from debris. We raked leaves onto a blue tarp and dragged them to the street while making jokes and talking about whatever came to mind; girls I was in love with, our love for McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich, the theater, the dog, the importance of family and having insurance, the topics were endless. In the winters, he was adamant about snow shoveling the driveway until there wasn't a flake of snow on the blacktop. When the sun came threw after a snow fall, our driveway always glistened and looked newly paved. He made me appreciate what we had and occasionally, I would catch him gazing at our home like he was a King, admiring his Kingdom.

King Albert was not a stay-at-home parent by any means. These chores were shared while he juggled three shifts as a Computer Programmer for a national flooring company a few towns over. Having been a Holocaust survivor and growing up in war torn Belgium, the King felt like royalty here in our great country and taught me the value of a hard day's work. My Father commandeered PC terminals in a windowless, temperature regulated room that resembled the Bridge of the USS Enterprise for over twenty years. On days off from school, and in lieu of a sitter, he would take me to work where he'd show me massive, reel to reel magnetic machines that processed data from all over the country. Surrounded by alien colored, green DOS screens, I enjoyed the white noise and the sound of analog punch cards being processed by the hundreds. King Albert was a popular figure in the workplace, mostly due to his dedication and work ethic but primarily because people knew they could count on him for anything. From the security guard at the front desk to the manager in the three piece suit, my Father was admired and held in the highest regard. I was proud to have this man as my teacher and protector. His dedication and loyalty to his employer, in combination with my Mother's passion for education were my impetus, my driving force to become a member of DormNation.