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Happy Fathers Day to all fathers out there. You know who you are . . . at least in most cases. I hope your day is special and that you get to spend it with your loved ones.
I remember when I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York. When Fathers Day arrived, the one gift I knew my Dad wanted more than anything else was a carton of Kool cigarettes, and back in those days, cancer was cheap, so that was the traditional gift I usually ended up getting him. I didn't know then how dangerous smoking is, but if I did, I probably would have gone out and gotten him a pedometer instead.
My fondest memory of my dad was when we used to come back into the city from upstate where the family spent the summers. Just dad and me--we'd go back to the apartment where we'd run the water in the tub to get the rust out of the line. Then we'd go to a local restaurant and have a coffee and a crumb bun. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone ever call the cake we'd have a crumb bun, but that's what Dad called it--the correct term is coffee cake--but to me, it was a crumb bun and will forever be a crumb bun.
One year, I was about ten or eleven, I believe, we were driving in the car along the Belt Parkway and the wind was blowing across Jamaica Bay causing the waves to funnel up into wet pyramids. "Look Dad--lumpy water!" I said, and my father just laughed so hard and I felt so much pride that I could cause such a wonderful and strong emotional reaction in my own father. He was the guy I idolized. Strength, intelligence, gentleness, and wisdom, that's who he was.
I went away to the Marines one day and I remember the pride Dad had when he came to see me on graduation day at Parris Island. He took a million photos of me and the platoon marching across the tarmac.
When I got the call a few months later that my father was dead, I was devastated. My strength was gone. My Dad and I would never see each other again. I cannot describe the feeling. I imagine if you've lost someone so close, you know what I had felt.
So to all fathers who may read this, know how important you are without ever having to be told. Be the father you have, the father you had, or the father you truly want to be.
Happy Fathers Day.
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I remember when I was a kid growing up in Brooklyn, New York. When Fathers Day arrived, the one gift I knew my Dad wanted more than anything else was a carton of Kool cigarettes, and back in those days, cancer was cheap, so that was the traditional gift I usually ended up getting him. I didn't know then how dangerous smoking is, but if I did, I probably would have gone out and gotten him a pedometer instead.
My fondest memory of my dad was when we used to come back into the city from upstate where the family spent the summers. Just dad and me--we'd go back to the apartment where we'd run the water in the tub to get the rust out of the line. Then we'd go to a local restaurant and have a coffee and a crumb bun. I don't believe I've ever heard anyone ever call the cake we'd have a crumb bun, but that's what Dad called it--the correct term is coffee cake--but to me, it was a crumb bun and will forever be a crumb bun.
One year, I was about ten or eleven, I believe, we were driving in the car along the Belt Parkway and the wind was blowing across Jamaica Bay causing the waves to funnel up into wet pyramids. "Look Dad--lumpy water!" I said, and my father just laughed so hard and I felt so much pride that I could cause such a wonderful and strong emotional reaction in my own father. He was the guy I idolized. Strength, intelligence, gentleness, and wisdom, that's who he was.
I went away to the Marines one day and I remember the pride Dad had when he came to see me on graduation day at Parris Island. He took a million photos of me and the platoon marching across the tarmac.
When I got the call a few months later that my father was dead, I was devastated. My strength was gone. My Dad and I would never see each other again. I cannot describe the feeling. I imagine if you've lost someone so close, you know what I had felt.
So to all fathers who may read this, know how important you are without ever having to be told. Be the father you have, the father you had, or the father you truly want to be.
Happy Fathers Day.
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