This is Not a Hallmark Moment

[Billy Britt]

Here in the United States we celebrate Father’s Day on the third Sunday in June. Father’s Days are not an American invention and are observed in 52 countries around the world.It was not recognized as an official US holiday until in 1972 President Richard Nixon signed it into law.Father’s Day has always run as a distant second to Mother’s Day and was, in the beginning, thought to be a bit of a joke. Some felt it was a commercial stunt designed to fill up the calendar with useless holidays in order to sell greeting cards.The first modern Father’s Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia.For those grammarians who often find pleasure in pointing out spelling and other errors, the acceptable spelling is “Father’s Day.”Although the name of the event is usually understood as a plural possessive (i.e. “day belonging to fathers”), which would under normal English punctuation guidelines be spelled “Fathers’ Day,” the most common spelling is “Father’s Day,” as if it were a singular possessive (i.e. “day belonging to Father”).For the most part, I do not subscribe to the notion of setting aside specific days to celebrate an event such as Valentine’s Day. It has always seem to me that a good spouse should remember to do something special on more than one day a year or else soon they will be celebrating, “Divorce Day.”Sometimes I feel, holidays are nothing more than “Hallmark Holidays,” which are manufactured for commercial reasons. These include Grandparents’ Day, Sweetheart Day, and Administrative Professionals’ Day (formerly Secretary’s Day).Hallmark Holidays are nothing more than the manipulation of human emotions for financial gain.As the years have passed, I have grown much more sentimental and have had my “Hallmark Moments.” A thought, a smell, the look in my wife’s eye can make me cry as easily as smile. It seems, as we get older we appreciate things more, or at least we know what we have lost and what we miss.My dad has been dead now for a few years and there is little on this earth that would give me more pleasure than to spend the day with him. I view my dad as a great man, he was smart, charming, funny and most of all he loved me.When I was a kid my dad built me the best go-cart on the block and he never missed a chance to play catch with me, my dad and I were together a lot. In many ways, he was typical of what a dad should be and that is not to be underestimated.My dad also was a wonderful storyteller and I cannot calculate the many hours I would sit and listen to the fanciful yarns he could spin. Many of these stories I can still hear in my mind today. Perhaps this is why I became a writer.Each day, when my dad came home from work, the first thing he wanted to know was, “What did you learn today?” This continued to be a question he would ask me until he died. He was a curious man of many interests.I spent the last five years of his life being with him everyday, he needed my care and attention and it was little to repay the man who had given me so much.I lost some valuable time in those five years but I gained more in love and understanding than I can express in a few words. To know a loving father as a child is a gift of rare value. To really know your father as an adult and to feel the love grow is priceless.Toward the end of my dad’s life he would sit in his favorite chair and nap. Sometimes he would reach down and feel around the bottom of the chair for something. One day I asked him what he was looking for. He said, “I was trying to pick up Billy, he was right here next to my leg and I wanted to hold him for a while.”Often, we hear people speak about how the US Constitution has its foundation in the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament, what a different world we would live in if that were true.“Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you,” is a commandment and the only one that gives a specific reward to the keeper.However, I know of no US laws that requires that this be followed even though the world would be a better place if we did. It is also interesting to note that the verse does not say, “Honor your father and your mother, if they have been nice to you.” Sometimes what is not written can be as powerful as what is. So I will leave that as food for thought.As for me, I will not celebrate Father’s Day this year; I will not buy soap-on-a-rope, Old Spice or a goofy tie. I will most likely never celebrate “Groundhog Day” or “Give Your Pet Lizard a Bone Day,” or any other Hallmark Holiday.But I will be thankful for having a wonderful father who was my protector, provider and friend.If your father is alive spend some time with him on Father’s Day or any day you can. Even if he was not the best of dads, he is your dad. If he has passed on like mine, remember him with fondness and like Wordsworth think of, “Father!—to God himself we cannot give a holier name.”

[John and Janet Ruiz]

I may be a little over the half way point Steve, but not by much. : )

I don't feel a day over 30. Numb, but no feeling.

Father's Day was good around here Billy. These are good thoughts you've put up and worth remembering. Thanks, glad yours was meaningful and memorable too.

[Joe Kriston]

Thanks for that John...

Wow, like the song says :

"Where have all the young men gone?...

Gone and become old men every one"...:)

[John Richeson]

Joe I bet your Dad was awesome. I'm sorry he's gone. Glad you got to be with him when you did.
In his honor here is his picture with a son I am sure he was proud of. This is on Davis's page HERE

[Joe Kriston]

Great post, Billy...It's great to appreciate the things your dad has done for you...Especially, in light of the fact that they lived a whole generation before us, and saw changes take place in the world that we could only read about---and somehow, still stay connected to us...

I last talked to my dad on Veteran's Day of last year....Though we spoke on the phone often, I especially wanted to call him then, as he was proud of having served in WWll...He died two days later at the ripe old age of 91...One thing I know made him proud, was he bought himself a Buick LeSabre, and whenever we visited them he'd let us tool around town in his Buick...Last summer, I told him I needed to buy another car and that I was going to "get me one of them Buicks"...I got me one, and called and told him about it, and he wanted to know all the details about my Buick,... all the options, the color, the engine, the mpg...Every time we would talk on the phone after that he would ask me 'how's that Buick doing?'...I guess, like the saying goes, imitation is the most sincere form of flattery...

[Kevin Nye]

By the way, who is perfect? As some of us use to say, "the last perfect man got out of here 2000 years ago". I know I am not perfect, but if any of my four children ever wrote anything like Billy did about his dad about me, I would be so honored. guess that's why his blog affected me so. I sure as hell wish I were a better Dad. Sometimes I feel like a big "f on my forehead" utter failure in that regard...

[Ronold F. Wallace]

That was a good story and still miss my daddy after 30 years. My dad wasn't perfect either but he was my dad.

[Kevin Nye]

Well, that was wonderful and brought tears to my eyes. I miss my Pop also...

[Jerry and Margie McSherry]

That was pretty awesome....Great Story, Great Photos, Great Memories...Thanks John...

[John Richeson]

Read about it here, Jerry, in a blog I did last year.

[Jerry and Margie McSherry]

Good Lord,John...that's a lot of kids... What's the ages???? Regards, and Happy Father's day, Jerry