It took awhile, but dads finally getting some recognition
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- MotherForTruth
- added this
Small boy's definition of Father's Day: "It's just like Mother's Day only you don't spend so much." - Author unknown
Another Father's Day is coming. I greet it with mixed feelings.
I've kept a great many of the cards I received from my daughters on Father's Day over the years. Most of them poke gentle humor at me for my fix-it skills, TV viewing habits or availability for light housework.
Fair enough. I'm not exactly a hearts-and-flowers guy. Besides, some of the sentiments are based in fact. I once severed the water line running from the street to the house while attempting to fix a sprinkler, flooding the entire yard. The neighbors still yell "surf's up" when they see me coming.
The guys at the hardware store know me on a first-name basis. I'm Bob, the guy who needs a combination internal pipe wrench and wiz snips with a left handed tongue and groove attachment and carbon steel forceps so I can hang a towel rack.
I'll watch any sports on TV, even leg wrestling from Turkestan where the winner receives a goat. I'm not sure of the exact location of the vacuum cleaner in our house and the controls on our new washing machine look to me like those on a F-16 fighter/bomber.
Despite these shortcomings, once a year I'm Dear Old Dad. Over time, I've gotten dozens of ties, gallons of after shave and enough soap on a rope to scrub down the U.S.S. Missouri. And each time, I received them with expressions of joy which, truth
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be told, are honestly felt.
I couldn't help noticing, however, that on Mother's Day, my wife receives flowers, multiple expressions of love that make her teary eyed all capped with an expensive champagne brunch or dinner at some place where the menus don't have prices.
On Father's Day, I'm sent out to slave over a hot barbecue which, as a matter of survival, necessitates the ingestion of cold beer.
Also fair enough. Moms deserve all the attention. They are the nurturers, the huggers, the comforters, the ones that care and feed for us all.
Men are the dragonslayers, the ones who defend the cave, not to mention change the oil, move the furniture, kill the spiders and unclog the toilet.
It's in our biological makeup to be this way, just like we can't help growing beards and grilling meat.
It wasn't long ago that we were hunter/gatherers who went out with a spear and brought home the evening meal slung over our massive, hairy shoulders.
Nothing says love like a sweaty guy with dirt under his nails.
But, heck yes, we deserve a day. In fact, it wasn't easy getting one.
Mother's Day in this country officially dates back to 1914. But while it was met with enthusiasm, the suggestion of a Father's Day was often met with laughter, according to several historical accounts.
It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, sort of like National Accordion Month is now. Shockingly, many saw it as the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions.
A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. But our elected officials resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.
Wikipedia, the sometimes reliable online encyclopedia, reports that President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation.
In 1957, Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "singling out just one of our two parents." To no avail.
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.
Finally, the day was made a permanent national holiday when that go-to guy Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
One other historical note: More phone calls are made in the United States during Mother's Day than during Father's Day, but the percentage of collect calls on Father's Day is much higher.
Best definition of a dad? "A father carries pictures where his money used to be."
Read more: http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_15284070#ixzz0qtNF1nDi
http://www.sarahscreativeoccasions.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/happy-fathers-d...
Another Father's Day is coming. I greet it with mixed feelings.
I've kept a great many of the cards I received from my daughters on Father's Day over the years. Most of them poke gentle humor at me for my fix-it skills, TV viewing habits or availability for light housework.
Fair enough. I'm not exactly a hearts-and-flowers guy. Besides, some of the sentiments are based in fact. I once severed the water line running from the street to the house while attempting to fix a sprinkler, flooding the entire yard. The neighbors still yell "surf's up" when they see me coming.
The guys at the hardware store know me on a first-name basis. I'm Bob, the guy who needs a combination internal pipe wrench and wiz snips with a left handed tongue and groove attachment and carbon steel forceps so I can hang a towel rack.
I'll watch any sports on TV, even leg wrestling from Turkestan where the winner receives a goat. I'm not sure of the exact location of the vacuum cleaner in our house and the controls on our new washing machine look to me like those on a F-16 fighter/bomber.
Despite these shortcomings, once a year I'm Dear Old Dad. Over time, I've gotten dozens of ties, gallons of after shave and enough soap on a rope to scrub down the U.S.S. Missouri. And each time, I received them with expressions of joy which, truth
Advertisement
be told, are honestly felt.
I couldn't help noticing, however, that on Mother's Day, my wife receives flowers, multiple expressions of love that make her teary eyed all capped with an expensive champagne brunch or dinner at some place where the menus don't have prices.
On Father's Day, I'm sent out to slave over a hot barbecue which, as a matter of survival, necessitates the ingestion of cold beer.
Also fair enough. Moms deserve all the attention. They are the nurturers, the huggers, the comforters, the ones that care and feed for us all.
Men are the dragonslayers, the ones who defend the cave, not to mention change the oil, move the furniture, kill the spiders and unclog the toilet.
It's in our biological makeup to be this way, just like we can't help growing beards and grilling meat.
It wasn't long ago that we were hunter/gatherers who went out with a spear and brought home the evening meal slung over our massive, hairy shoulders.
Nothing says love like a sweaty guy with dirt under his nails.
But, heck yes, we deserve a day. In fact, it wasn't easy getting one.
Mother's Day in this country officially dates back to 1914. But while it was met with enthusiasm, the suggestion of a Father's Day was often met with laughter, according to several historical accounts.
It was the target of much satire, parody and derision, sort of like National Accordion Month is now. Shockingly, many saw it as the first step in filling the calendar with mindless promotions.
A bill to accord national recognition of the holiday was introduced in Congress in 1913. But our elected officials resisted, fearing that it would become commercialized.
Wikipedia, the sometimes reliable online encyclopedia, reports that President Calvin Coolidge recommended in 1924 that the day be observed by the nation, but stopped short of issuing a national proclamation.
In 1957, Maine Sen. Margaret Chase Smith wrote a proposal accusing Congress of ignoring fathers for 40 years while honoring mothers, thus "singling out just one of our two parents." To no avail.
In 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation honoring fathers, designating the third Sunday in June as Father's Day.
Finally, the day was made a permanent national holiday when that go-to guy Richard Nixon signed it into law in 1972.
One other historical note: More phone calls are made in the United States during Mother's Day than during Father's Day, but the percentage of collect calls on Father's Day is much higher.
Best definition of a dad? "A father carries pictures where his money used to be."
Read more: http://www.sgvtribune.com/ci_15284070#ixzz0qtNF1nDi
http://www.sarahscreativeoccasions.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/happy-fathers-d...
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- Community, Gender Equality
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treewolf39
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Sweet.
- 1 year ago
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treewolf39
