My father was a mystery to me. I knew he was from Vienna, Austria, but that was about it. He was always nicely dressed, spoke with the kind of accent that people who learn British English have, and walked so quickly it was as if he was on the run from something or someone.
He stood out from all the other kids' dads in the Bay Area suburb where I grew up. There were times when I felt embarrassed by those differences and I wished he wasn't quite so European.