Father's Day

I know, it was actually yesterday. My father doesn't read this blog, and I think he might have a heart attack if I remembered something like Father's Day, Mother's Day, somebody's birthday, Christmas, etc.

It wasn't until I got out into the world that I really came to understand just how great a father I had. Sure, he has his faults. Everyone does. He's still a good man. Growing up, though, there were times I hated him for the things he did.

He taught me right from wrong. He taught me that the only way to get something was to work for it, even if he had a hard time suppressing that generous streak of his. He taught me generosity, too. Patience, kindness, and a willingness to open up a can of whup-ass when someone desperately needs it.
Typically that last was on me, applied with a leather belt after I got into a fistfight at school for the umpteenth time.
He taught me duty, honor, respect, and loyalty. My father never served in the military, but he knew those things better than many in uniform. He taught me faith and patriotism. Not the kinds that shout themselves from the street corners and the rooftops at the first hint of a crisis, but the quiet, strong varieties that weather any storm and come out the stronger for it. He taught me the proper way to fold a flag and respect for the flag at an age when most kids were still working on learning to ride bikes. There are grown men in uniform who still don't know how to fold a flag. He taught me the sanctity of marriage, and the importance of spouse and family. Coming from a generation that thought it was cool to question authority and disrespect those who hold it, he taught me to respect my betters and my elders, that there's a difference between someone having to earn my respect and me being disrespectful to them. He didn't teach me these things by telling me them, he taught me by doing them.

I look at some of the other sperm donors my battle-buddies have had. Deadbeats, liberals, drunks, drug addicts, abusers. It seems a good father these days is about as rare as a unicorn, and I can't help but wonder how much better the world would be if there were a million more like him. If I ever do wind up breeding, I hope to be half as good a father as he was.