A Father's Day Perspective

From childhood I have been told it is better to give than to receive. That kind of thinking has its disadvantages on “Father’s Day” if you are looking for praise… You would rather not sit around all day seeking recognition from your children for doing what you were supposed to do in the first place.

If you helped bring kids into this world, you were supposed to support them. You were supposed to teach them lessons that would save their lives, like looking both ways before crossing the street. And if you had special talents like being kind, getting along with others, and going to work everyday, you were supposed to hand those special talents down to those who called you “father.”

Truth is, not all fathers do what they are supposed to. As with all human endeavors, failures and imperfections are part of the fatherhood landscape… Every father knows that all too well, unless you are one of those phony brothers living a lie.

Take the “Father of Father’s Day,” Civil War veteran William Smart… He was the father of 5 young children, and became a widower when his wife died while delivering their 6^th child. Mr. Smart raised his children all by himself, including an infant, on a rural farm in Washington State. His daughter, Sonora Smart Dodd, after becoming an adult and realizing what her father had done, decided to honor him and all the fathers of her church who did what they were supposed to do… Sonora’s dream was realized, and in Spokane, Washington in 1910 the first Father’s Day was observed.

Mr. Smart had been given a difficult task to perform. Those 6 children bore the lifelong scars from losing their mother, I am sure… But like Mr. Smart, all fathers are given the task of “caring” for others in a world determined to make it as difficult as possible. It is the caring part of fatherhood that turns duty into acts of love.

The real pleasure of Father’s Day is in knowing those who you fathered really care about you. The real pleasure in this day is in knowing your children believe deep down that you did more than just what you were supposed to. As a father you actually want the pleasure of knowing that your children believe and understand that you cared so much for them that you gave your all for their survival…

My dad did that… Thanks Pop.

Dad and Uncle Charles

GLM

To The Moon and Back

In an age of rocket science and planetary explorations, our high water mark for American space travel is still the successful transport of Americans to the moon and back… Since, there have been noble deeds performed by American astronauts in space. But “One small leap for man. One giant leap for mankind” still trumps any machine that digs into the soil of planet Mars…

We have gone to the moon and back. We have conquered centuries old myths surrounding planet Earth’s moon. Now, we embark on a journey just as terrifying to some, and mythical to others: Electing a Black President of the United States of America…

The presidential launch of Barack Obama has potential to be one of the most spectacular events of American history, or as divisive as the Iraq War itself. It could unmask the collective American spirit for future success, or could cause the nation to consciously take a giant leap into the dark past.

Where were you when Neil Armstrong set foot on the lunar surface of the Moon? How about when Obama won the Democratic nomination? If you were like me, you were in a state of disbelief and celebration. I was able to fully appreciate the words of Martin Luther King when he said his children would "one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."

It was content of character that took Armstrong to the moon and back.

On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong, an American man, went to the moon and gave identity to a space program that began as a simple dream of mythical proportions. On June 3, 2008, Barack Obama, an American black man, won the Democratic Presidential Nomination that was once a mythical dream of his black ancestors, and gave simple hope to future generations of Americans that ALL men and women are created equal.

If Barack Hussein Obama proves himself to be worthy, then Americans of all colors and creeds should take a giant leap forward and elect him President... Character, and not his race must determine his fitness to lead.

It will be content of character that takes Obama to the White House. A feat as difficult as going to the Moon... and back.

GLM