Fathers Day 2008

did you get a tie?

so anyway, Happy Fathers Day for all you Dads out there.

A while back, Al of Cold Fury fame looked at how Dads (and men in general) are treated in our declining culture. A taste:

If you’re into being a man, husband and father for recognition, for thanks, for the gratitude of others, you’re in the wrong line of work. Honestly. It’s your job to provide that to others. You should take satisfaction in a job well done. But if you’re looking to them to emotionally validate you, no offense meant, but you’re a pussy and you probably ought to turn in your balls on your way out of the barber shop next time you go, or, God forbid, find a cigar shop or a saloon if you’re a beauty salon kind of guy.

Yep, it’s nice to be praised and recognized, and it’s proper to respond graciously to it. But don’t go out there looking for it. You aren’t going to find it very often for one thing, and for another, why should you get a Congressional Medal of Honor for just doing your job? It’s immodest to seek praise for simply not being a wanker.

Absolutely.Spot.On.

Elsewhere, Matty O'BlackFive reposts a Fathers Day tribute from 2006. Powerful stuff. To excerpt Matt's excerpt:

I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay for their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.

But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.

Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars -- all in the same day.

Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. on a bike. Makes taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?

Like Matt of BlackFive fame and Sports Illustrated's Rick Reilly, I suck as well. Do go read.

Just because I gotta go there; Ace commemorates the day as only he can. Follow the link thingies and call your therapist.

thatisall