David Kennard
dkennard@journalscene.com
Fathers Day is upon us.
That means a new tie, perhaps some new socks and maybe a
card from the kids – perhaps a phone call, or a mention in a Facebook post.
Despite what Home Depot would like you to think, Father’s
Day isn’t really the same holiday as Mother’s Day. It’s really more along the
lines of Secretary’s Day – worth a mention but otherwise it’s just another day,
with perhaps an excuse to grill some steak and watch some baseball on TV.
At least that’s the way it is in our house.
I’m not complaining. I’ve received some pretty nice things
over the years – lawn equipment, electronics, most of the socks in my drawer –
but some of the best gifts have been more subtle.
As a father of four, now mostly grown children, I’ve
prepared a list of the Best Father’s Day gifts – both given and received.
No. 1 on my list: A game of catch with my oldest son, Nate.
He played Little League baseball growing up, which meant we often spent time in
the back yard throwing a baseball back and forth. Working on form, aim,
distance, whatever. There’s something really satisfying to a father about the
sound of a fast ball thrown by his son as the ball smacks the sweet spot of a
leather mitt.
No. 2: Bamboo pole fishing with your children. Any lazy
Saturday afternoon is a Father’s Day gift if you can catch a ton of sunfish on
a bamboo pole baited with a simple red worm.
I’ve got some pretty cool fishing gear that has mostly not
caught much, but the most enjoyment I’ve had is watching the excitement on my
children’s faces when they latch onto a wriggling blue gill.
No. 3: Eating burned hot dogs. My children will tell you
that I am a hot dog snob. They must be all beef; they must be cooked until they
plump and they must be topped only with ketchup and mustard, maybe some
sauerkraut. My children, on the other hand, all like them blackened. The
blacker, the better. I don’t get it, but at least they’re easy to cook that
way.
No 4: Packing for your first Boy Scout trip. One of the
fondest memories of my own father was the days and days he spent gathering all
the equipment I needed for my first 5-mile back-packing trip with my Boy Scouts
troop. I had a brand new 6-pound external frame pack, a new 4-pound folding
trench shovel, a new 2-pound aluminum mess kit, A 13-pound two-man tent with
rain fly, a new 3-pound D-cell flashlight, at least 5 pounds of canned beans,
sardines and beef jerky. A sleeping bag, sleeping pad rain poncho and assorting
clothing, fishing gear, and miscellaneous other odds and ends.
When I showed up to the church parking lot to load up with
the other boys, I could barely lift the pack, which weighed something close to
60 pounds. At 11 years old, I think I may have weighed 90 pounds.
Most of the gear that Dad had gone to great lengths to shove
into that new pack was left in the back of my scoutmaster’s pickup truck. Dad
was great, and I believe I still have that old folding shovel somewhere.
No. 5-10: Riding roller coasters together with your
children, watching Ohio State play for the National Championship, reading the
Sunday Funnies together, daddy-daughter dates that include Peanut Buster
Parfaits, building tree forts and blanket forts.
Father’s Day Life Hack: Finally here’s a secret tip for
fathers that my father-in-law shared with me sometime around the birth of my
only daughter. When she becomes a teenager and wants you drive her and her
friends all over town, but doesn’t want you butting into their conversations,
just adjust the car’s speakers so the sound fades only to the rear seat. It
makes it a lot easier to eavesdrop.
Happy Father’s Day.
David Kennard is the executive editor of Summerville
Communications, which publishes the Berkeley Independent, Goose Creek Gazette
and Summerville Journal Scene. Contact him at dkennard@journalscene.com or
843-873-9424. Follow him on Twitter @davidbkennard.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment