Happy Father’s
Day! I have several reflections I want
to share. First of all, in honor of my
dad who loved to share the origins of holidays, let me begin today by citing
some information on how Father’s Day came to be.
“It is believed
that Father’s Day was first observed on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, Washington,
through the efforts of Sonora Smart Dodd, a Christian woman and the daughter of
American Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart. Sonora’s mother died when she was age 16, and
she wanted a day that would commemorate and honor fathers like her own, who had
raised her and five other children. Once
she began soliciting the idea of an official Father’s Day she met some
opposition, and even derision, but she persevered. A bill was introduced in Congress in 1913,
and in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson spoke at a Father’s Day celebration in
Spokane, Washington, wanting to make it an official holiday, but Congress still
resisted. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge
became involved, and in 1930 a national committee was formed by various trade groups
in an effort to legitimize the holiday.
The battle continued, and in 1966 President Lyndon Johnson made a
proclamation for the third Sunday of June to be Father’s Day. Finally, it was made an official national
holiday when President Nixon signed a similar proclamation in 1972”
Secondly, I
want to encourage you to make this day extraordinarily special for your dad. This is important
for several reasons, for one, because we don’t know how long a life we will
live. You say, “My dad is healthy; he exercises and he watches his diet. His father lived a long life, so my dad will
too.” I’m sorry but none of that matters. I know whereof I speak. I remember when I used to think like that
regarding my own father. But Dad, to the
shock of everyone, didn’t get to see past the young age of 60. You can rattle off all the statistics on life
expectancy, proper diet, and whatever else that you want to cite, but it doesn’t change the fact that life
is a fragile gift. You can be seemingly
healthy and pass away tomorrow. Incidentally,
this is true not only for your dad, but it’s true for you and me as well. Tomorrow is not guaranteed even for the
person who is in their 20’s or 30’s.
Frasier
Crane, both in the TV show “Cheers” and in his popular spin-off “Frasier” spoke
of how important it is to express to your loved ones how much they mean to you. The “Frasier” storyline that prompted these
words came from a rather dramatic narrative for a comedy show: Frasier’s
brother, Niles, discovered he needed to have bypass surgery due to a blockage. The severity of this news reminded everyone
how precious the gift of life and health really is. That’s an important lesson from a TV show.
Thirdly,
and in closing, I can’t conclude this blog without bragging on my dad a little
bit. I know I’ve highlighted him a lot
already this month, but it doesn’t feel right to compose a Father’s Day blog
without referencing him. I was recently
at a grocery store and I saw a hash tag for Father’s Day that read: “#BestDadEver”. I knew what I wanted to do at some point in
this Father’s Day blog, and that is this:
 |
| #BestDadEver |
I’m
proud to be Jerry Bauer’s son. I want to
be as honorable, noble, selfless, and heroic as him.
Kevin
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