Prompt #30

Looking at the picture of my dad with his fellow Shriners, you may assume many things about him. The way he has his arms around his friends you would think that he cares for his friends. However, alcohol tends to come before anything else in his life including friends and family.
His big smile stands out in the picture making you think he would be a great guy to hang around. I wouldn’t know. My dad constantly promises me that we’ll spend time together and then calls later to cancel. It’s very rare when I get the chance to spend a day with him. Now, when my father calls to cancel our plans I have already arranged new plans as backup.
A red Shriner hat sits on his head. As a Shriner, my dad is constantly helping needy children and children hospitals, but he never has time for his own daughter. My father believes that you have to buy people’s forgiveness. Every time my father cancels plans on me he buys me a gift. When I was little he would buy me some kind of toy, usually an “apology bear”. As I grew older, he switched from teddy bears to money.
I find it interesting how a picture can make you assume so many things about a person. In this picture, my dad looks like a stranger to me.