everydayinamerica

Today is a celebration of fathers everywhere… I celebrate my father…although he passed on in 1978…

Last night I read all of the letters and cards he had sent to me…and remembered him, as well as where I was in my growth and development at those times.  I missed my dad.  He was a good father…He and my mom separated when I was seven…but I still loved him…and he was still, my dad…

As I grew up, I came to realize certain dynamics of human nature…while love may last forever…relationships may not…casualties presented themselves everywhere…and no one was safe from the fallout…and if we sought answers, we could seek and find with the wisdom of our understanding…

Dad would come out to visit us five children, every summer…until my sister and I decided after attending an early summer concert, that we would try to hook up with our favorite group, and took a journey to their hotel, once we managed to get the information from one of their stage crew… We were offered a ride to the hotel by the guy who was transporting their instruments and staging to the airport…we accepted, and he dropped us off in front of the hotel and waited… of course, the front desk personnel denied that the group was staying there…so  the equipment guy took us as far as he was going after dropping off the equipment to LAX, which was Los Angeles, near our grandmother’s home, near USC…we were given a ride from there to our home in the San Fernando Valley, whereas night, had become early morning… foolish, naive, young girls…Angels, everywhere!

We made it into the house…thinking we could sneak into bed, and there in the living room stood my father, my mom, and my aunt…”Where have you been!!!” My mother shouted.  My dad just stood there silently.  After we explained our escapade, mom angrily explained the dangers our little adventure had exposed us to, and we were grounded, and forbidden to go to any more concerts that summer!  My dad finally spoke, saying he was not coming for any more summer visits…that his next visit would be when we graduated from high school, which was three years away!

Mom did consent to allowing me and my sister to attend our favorite group’s concert two months later, where we did meet them, and we asked them about the hotel, and they said they were there!!! Silly young girls…

After my 19th birthday, my letters became calls to my dad…we would talk on the phone every other weekend, and he was always happy and had a story to tell me about the concerts he had gone to, and what was going on around him with the relatives and such! We shared good laughs, and we shared the love…

My dad passed away at 50 years…He died in his sleep of a heart attack.

I think back on all the wonderful things my dad taught me…He taught me about diversity and friendship…through his diverse group of friends and their friendships… He taught me how to love baseball…he taught me how to appreciate and love music…Dad loved a variety of music, especially the R&B greats, and played the saxophone…he taught me how to enjoy good food, by being a great cook…which I inherited from him..(and my mom!)  He opened the door to my spiritual journey…which evolved from my Catholic beginnings to my spiritual path today…

Whatever your relationship may be with your dad…embrace it…honor it…appreciate it…because good, not so good, or indifferent, we are all the better for it…really, we are.

To all the dads who were taken…they are heroes, and they left behind legacies of their own, which will endure, and last a lifetime…

To those dads who are doing their best…you are commended…

To those dads who can do better…be better…someone is reading your book…

To “Step in” dads, and dads who have no biological children, and are dads to many… you are the salt of the earth…

And to those dads who are loving it to the last drop…you are golden!

Above all, dads everywhere…Today is your day to shine, and be appreciated…Thank you for your love…direction and support…and for always being there…

E.A., you’re the best dad ever! And I’ll love you…forever…Kisses N hugs….

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, to dads, everywhere… SJB, Jr., Uncle J.B.

Much Love….