Moms have it all.
They get it from athletes smiling into the TV camera, they get the arm tattoo dedications, and their day is usually spent being pampered.
What does dad usually get on his day? Another tie and the chance to foot the restaurant bill for yet another family meal.
So in celebration of Dads everywhere, as we approach your day, I’d like to make just a brief list of the things my father has done for me:
• Taught me right from wrong
• Taught me to read and got me to develop it as a habit by reading to me all the time when I was young
• Introduced me to Bob Dylan (someone would have done it eventually, but I’m glad it was him!)
• Kept after me to do well in school
• On that subject, taught me chemistry (good thing, too, because our high school chem teacher sure wasn’t doing it! [full disclosure: I grew up in Pennsylvania; don’t want to offend the Indian River School District science department!])
• Introduced me to computers at a very young age, something for which I cannot thank him enough - not to mention it sure made keyboarding class a breeze!
• Teaching me that, as an Italian, there isn’t much to be done with all this extra hair except to just keep on trimming it...
• Taught me the value and advantages of constantly saving money, though I have to admit my love of music and quality neckties has occasionally caused me to stray from that one
• Got me interested in the news by watching what was then the MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour on PBS. It sure seemed boring at the time, but it probably got me into journalism without me even realizing
But most importantly, he taught me responsiblity. Lord knows I goofed up plenty of times when I was a kid, and he was always there to make sure I knew what I did wrong, why it was wrong and how to keep from doing it again.
Thanks, Dad. You’re the best.
GEORGETOWN, DEL. —
