Carol H Tucker Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan
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beladona Memorial Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...
Today is the third Sunday in June and the US is celebrating Fathers' Day. It is a time devoted apparently to golf and cookouts and supporting the manufacturers of ties -- according to GOOGLE, searches on on "father's day ties" is up 22 percent since 2010, and 26 percent since 2009 [maybe that is why the doodle has a tie?]. Some feel that the day for dads pales in comparison to the celebrations for mothers; the men I work with commented that they just wish Fathers' Day came before Mothers' Day so that when their wives ask them what they want for their day, they can ask to be "off the hook" for Mothers' Day.
It is a bit of a sad day for me -- not because my own father is gone, not because I am a widow [after all, Frank wasn't my father!] -- because neither of my kids celebrate it. Neither of them have fond memories of their fathers from their childhood, and both have made the choice not to associate with the men as adults. Tom simply ignores his father and his step-father, not responding if they contact him. Gem and her father haven't been speaking for almost two years now, and he was not invited to her wedding.
In jest I have commented in the past that I had poor taste in men and it took me three times to get it right. Neither Bob nor Chuck were bad or evil, I just couldn't live with them... Bob was described in a Baltimore Sun article from 2004 once as "snarky, irascible and completely unapologetic" and that is a pretty good description of him I think. The article goes on to point out his strong dedication to handicapped rights and what he has [or hasn't] accomplished. Bob makes a good gadfly. He is married again and I have no idea how he is living since he never paid attention to anything mundane like money. Chuck? I can't find anything about him online, but he was a hard worker and very savvy about his personal finances. He is retired and living alone now. Couldn't find a picture of either of them online -- but then again, I could only find four of me when I did a casual search!
I was not close to my father, and yet the family always felt that I was much like him both in temperment and appearance. He was gone by the time I was in Junior High and our relationship was tenuous at best afterwards. He was a volatile, friendly, passionate man who worked hard and played hard and laughed readily. He was also born under a wandering star, had a problem with telling the truth, was always looking for a way to make a quick buck and a bit of a black sheep. I loved him and I know that he loved me, but we never did come to a resolution and make our peace. When he was dying, he stayed in Idaho and it was my uncle who went to be with him at the end. While I thought Ward Cleaver was a pain in the butt, I keenly felt that lack of a male role model in my life and I had hoped that my children would have strong caring fathers who would be their support and bulwark against the world. On Fathers' Day, I always wonder if I should call my son and my daughter and apologize to them.
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