HAPPY FATHERS DAY!

There are many types of men, in many shapes and forms. Some of us are tall and some of us short. Some see things one-way and some another. We all age differently; have our likes and dislikes, and many of us marry. To those of us that marry and have children, I salute you.

We fathers are a unique breed, consumed in making a living, getting along with our wives, and understanding our children. Ours is not an easy lot. Whether rich or poor, or somewhere in the middle, our survival instincts take over. We need a place of our own for our children. We need a job to feed them, and give them within reason, what other children have. We are protective of our daughters and rough on our sons. We do this because we love them both equally, and have learned from life’s lessons: that no one is going to give anything away, you must earn it, so we teach.

We shower our children with what we think they need, what they ask for, and sometimes we deem it not necessary. Why do we do these things: because we love them. We love them because we helped create them, they are part of our selves, and that means part of the woman we married. They help cement our marriage! Our children are our legacy.

The media has often made a joke out of fatherhood, and unfairly so. Dads are the glue that bind, the rock of a solid foundation. Of course, our children still seek Mom, and we take comfort in that. “Dad, can I stay over my friend’s house tonight?” “Go ask your Mom.” This conversation then grows to: “Dad, where’s Mom?” As a Father, we learn to accept that and are grateful that that is the lay of the land.

We know our boundaries, God, Mom, and Flag. Yet we protect those boundaries, and if we must, will physically defend them. We are parents, partners and most of all, fathers.

Happy Father’s Day to Grandpa Tony, Grandpa Jim, John, Tom, Carl, Don, Doug, Kevin, Dennis, Steve, Gerard, Keith, Michael, Sean, Richard and all the fathers I know out there, and to those I don’t know, Happy Father’s Day.

THE OLD MAN
By: John McDermott

The tears have all been shed now
We've said our last goodbyes
His souls been blessed
He's laid to rest
And it's now I feel alone
He was more than just a father
A teacher my best friend
He can still be heard
In the tunes we shared
When we play them on our own

(Chorus)
I never will forget him
For he made me "what I am"
Though he may be gone
Memories linger on
And I miss him, the old man

As a boy he'd take me walking
By mountain field and stream
And he showed me things
not known to kings
And secret between him and me
Like the colors of the pheasant
As he rises in the dawn
And how to fish and make a wish
Beside the Holly Tree

I thought he'd live forever
He seemed so big and strong
But the minutes fly
And the years roll by
For a father and a son
And suddenly when it happened
There was so much left unsaid
No second chance
To tell him thanks
For everything he's done