An Invernessian in America: My fun-loving, loud and ridiculously smart dad
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With Father’s Day last week, I want to tell you a little about my dad. His name is Mike, he was born in California and moved to Inverness when he was 21. Some move, eh?!
As happy as I am that he moved to what would become my birthplace (and give me that dual nationality), I remember asking him why on earth he left the shores of San Diego to move to the capital of the Highlands. And his answer was clear – his dad made him.
And knowing what these Knox men are like, I’m absolutely not surprised he obeyed him. My grandparents had a tech company in San Diego and at that time, were offered a grant to set up shop in Scotland. To cut a long story short, my mum was working behind the bar at the Station Hotel, my dad was a regular and persistently asked her out until she caved. And the rest is history.
It’s almost impossible to sum up Mike Knox in a few words; he’s a unique character! Fun-loving, loud, American, ridiculously smart with the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met.
His sense of humour is unique to say the least, but I used to love bringing my friends over to our house to see him. He’d welcome them with open arms, make up nicknames for them, crack jokes, try to hang with the boys and partake in literally any sporting activity possible. But he was strict with me and even though it drove me crazy as a teenager, I’m so grateful for the guidance and standards he set as I grew up, which was not always an easy task!
One example sticks with me: We lived in Westhill, at the top of the Tower Road. My friends and I would hang around in Cradlehall most weekends, and he would always set me the most random times to be home like 9.58pm, 10.16pm, and 10.32pm. They changed every night. And if I was a minute late, I’d know all about it. I’d arrive home at night sweating after having to run up that hill.
He’d also give me my pocket money for the year on January 1. We didn’t get a lot of pocket money, and had to work for it, but he’d give me the full amount at the start of year and make me budget – and if I ran out, tough. I ran out every single year and I’m still terrible at budgets, much to his despair.
I’m extremely close to my parents and, after they moved to Florida, living on the other side of the world from them for 12 years was hard. We all felt it. I remember telling him in early 2016 that I was ready to move to Jacksonville, and my dad almost tried to talk me out of it.
Like any father, he’s always wanted the best for me and knew I’d be changing my entire life. But being able to live my life alongside them was the catalyst, and was the best decision I’ve ever made.
My dad is my hero, my mentor, my drive in life to always be the best I can be. He’s an incredible role model. He is the most generous, thoughtful man yet still injects this sense of fun into everything he does.
We’re both fiercely stubborn, and have butted heads on many occasions, but as hard as it is for me to admit, he is rarely wrong and wants to make everything in life better for all those around him.
I called him a “unique character” and he truly is, because I appreciate how unique our relationship is, and how lucky I am to call him mine.
