Dad's Day

by Bill Scharf
(whittier,Calif.)

Yes I am special! I am the dad and not to be confused with the mother. Mother, on her special day, wants to go out and eat in fancy restaurants or drive for 16 hours to some park or lake. The father on the other hand would prefer to have all the kids over and just relax and swap old family stories over a bed of charcoals where you can burn some once nice pieces of chicken. The women hustle around in the kitchen like busy bees talking about anything and everything in between snitches of food.

And for some reason the kids still think I need presents. I have all that I want and then some. There love is all that is needed and I have that so what else could they give me. Okay I did want a couple of potted Lilly’s to plant in the flower beds and I did remember that old time after shave lotion called Lilac vegetal that I liked the scent of, so I guess I don’t have all that I want. But it’s a far better thing to have Lilly’s and lotion than to add another tie to my very old collection or another shirt that you can only wear in Hawaii.

Father’s day is a good thing as it brings the family together and old grandpa gets to be around his grand kids who by the way are getting old enough to realize the grandpa isn’t so dumb after all and is usually on their side. There is a rumor that another grandkid may be on its way.

Sitting around on a warm Sunday afternoon with the tribe all around eating special burnt chicken, several salads and beans and a variety of chips and dip with kids running here and there is the ideal day for this old dad. Who would want more?