I got the call at the hospital that Dad had suffered a mild heart attack,
And I was feeling a little sorry for myself anyway,
Because I couldn’t do the Tri I had trained for,
And I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong, and after all, it was just a mild heart attack,
Wasn’t it?
And besides, real men don’t cry do they?

I got the call from Bill that the mild heart attack wasn’t so mild after all,
While I was at the Day of Caring,
And I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And all my employees were there,
And they’ve never seen me cry,
So what would they think?
And besides, real men don’t cry do they?

When we walked in the waiting room and saw Mom,
And she looked so tired,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And if I had, Mom would have broken down and so would Bill,
And I didn’t want that.
And besides, real men don’t cry do they?

When we went into Dad’s room,
And we saw him lying there with tubes going in and out from every direction,
And he struggled so hard to breathe,
And he looked so sick,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And if I had,
Dad would know that things weren’t good,
And we wanted him to get well.
And besides, real men don’t cry do they?

When we left to come back home,
And I knew deep down that it was the last time I would see Dad,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And there was still hope,
So it would appear like I had given up,
And I hadn’t.
And besides, real men don’t cry do they?

When I got the call from Bob that Dad had passed away,
And Bob couldn’t talk,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And someone had to talk to Mom and calm her down,
And Bill wasn’t there and neither was I,
And Bob was too broken up,
So we talked on the phone,
And Mom sounded better after she talked to me,
And besides real men don’t cry do they?

When I got down to Florida,
And Bill and I pulled into the driveway,
And I saw Mom and Bob and Debbie,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And if I would have cried,
They would too,
And they were probably all cried out,
And it wouldn’t help anyway.
And besides real men don’t cry do they?

When I got up during the service to read Dad’s eulogy,
And I saw the whole family there,
And I saw the church was full,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
Because I was doing it for Dad,
And he had done hundreds of funerals,
And he had to be strong,
Because he had to comfort the families,
And I did too.
And besides real men don’t cry do they?

When we took Dad’s ashes out in Bob’s boat,
I felt the tears welling up inside,
But I stifled them,
And I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to be strong,
And if I had cried,
Bill and Bob and Mom would have too,
And nobody could have opened the box,
And spread the ashes,
And couldn’t have said a few words.
And besides real men don’t cry do they?

When I got to the airport,
And I was leaving Mom,
I wanted to cry,
But I didn’t because I had to stay strong,
And Mary Lois was there to ride back with Mom,
And Didge was coming that evening,
And I was at the airport,
And what would all those people think?
And besides real men don’t cry anyway do they?

So Monday was my first day back to normal,
And it was a new normal,
But it was normal,
So I went out for a bike ride to Middleville,
And my legs got tired,
But it felt good to be back on the bike,
And I thought about how I had been so strong,
And how it helped everyone else,
And made Dad’s passing a little easier to accept,
And I was so proud of myself for being such a real man,
I cried.