History Of Father's Day

Twighlight bridge ^ | 6-18-06

[lentulusgracchus]

[Quoting Bill Cosby] "You don't want to say that to a child so you censor yourself and you sound like an idiot. "

I'm sure he did a lot, but with all respect to the Cos, my old man did in fact resort to the Saxon idiom when absolute clarity and perfect understanding of his intention were called for.

Example: My old man was a career active-duty Air Force Reserve officer. A bombardier and then an air-ops officer in a B-24 squadron in the Eighth Air Force, he reentered the Air Force as a "retread" for Korea under a special program until an off-duty injury during a pickup ball game during training at Lowry AFB near Denver reoriented him toward training as a radar officer. This involved him in construction of the DEW Line, Pine Tree Line, and other facilities in places never previously visited by civilized men.

One day in 1960, after a weary, endless round of computer crashes at the SAGE site he'd been posted to near Duluth AFB, a day punctuated by screaming alarms, running people, and snarling bird colonels whose stock in trade seemed to be to stick their heads in offices like jack-in-the-boxes and demand to know the cause of the alarm sounded forty seconds earlier, he was sitting at home over supper when the subject of my possibly going into the Air Force when I grew up (I was 11 or 12) came up. My father looked at me across the table and said to me, with fatherly authority, "Son, if you ever even look like you're going to join the Air Force, I'll kick your ass up between your shoulder blades!" My mother blurted out, "Edward!" But the man's word had been laid down, and when the time came, 10 years later, I was duly commissioned in the Navy Reserve.

[sully777]

Here here!!!

[sully777]

My dad is ex-Marine and so the salty language was punctuated by Marine dark humor. He never ceased to get his point across. I find myself using his colorful expressions in a slightly censored way.

[Prime Choice]

With all the cute photos going around, there's just one I have to share that always brings me a smile.

I don't have a daughter yet, but when I do, I have a hunch she's gonna turn out a lot like this one. (Note the reading material.)   ;o)

[sully777]

I'm a firm believer

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[Professional Engineer]

(Note the reading material.)

My daughter gather intel.

[Professional Engineer]

Ping to #44.

[Professional Engineer]

If they are anything like my kids, the house is one big play area and anything is in-play.

Whew, I tought ours was the only house like that. LOL

[garbageseeker]

My father was not a saint, but I still loved him.

[Alouette]

[mvpel]

How wonderful. Is that a picture when you first met him? He looks like a healthy boy. Congratulations to you and your wife.

Thanks very much! That photo is from just a few days ago. He's coming up on two and a half years old now.

This is an important Father's Day for him as well - his legal and alleged biological father is in jail and completely and vehemently denies that he is the father of this boy. So it's a first Father's Day for my new son as well.