Quiet strength

Earlier this week I described my dad by these two words:  Quiet strength.  My thoughts kept coming back to those words all week. My dad was a little guy...about 5'7" in his prime....and about 5'2" when he died, but ya didn't dare mess with him. He wasn't menacing by any stretch of the imagination, but folks just had a certain respect for him.....especially some of my old high school boyfriends :)
Two times, in particular, I can easily recall, when he used his quiet strength. Sean was in 9th grade and was chosen to play on the Varsity soccer team. This angered many people who thought their older sons should be playing "up" before Sean got a chance. Sorry folks, he was THAT good. Two mouthy dads started yelling disparaging things across the field toward the coach during a game....well within ear-shot of Sean. After about a minute, my dad had heard enough. He turned and squared off with these two big men with a "Listen here!". No one but the two men heard what else he had to say to those guys, but they apologized and we never heard another word from them the rest of the season.
The other time.....across the road from my house is 1/2 mile wide tract of woods with a stream running through. It is always packed with deer and turkey, though too close to homes to hunt. My boys were babies at the time and we were all outside enjoying the nice Fall day, until some yahoo parked his truck on the road, got his gun and headed into the woods. I never saw my dad move so fast! He was going to protect those grandchildren!!  He was down off the porch and chasing after the guy yelling "You can't hunt here!" The guy turned and pointed the gun at my dad and shouted, "I'll take you out, old man!", but my dad just kept going toward him, completely unafraid. Miraculously, the guy stood motionless as my dad shared a few quiet words with him, then got in his truck and left.
You don't have to scream and fuss and lose your temper. You don't have to punch or threaten. I never asked him what he said to those guys.....all I know is that quiet strength is an amazing quality, and one that I am trying to develop in myself. 
I wish I would have told him how awesome he was while he was living. If your dad is still on Earth, please tell him today how much you appreciate him.