. . .And all the other greeting card manufacturers out there:
Based on the available selection of Father's Day cards in the stores recently, I can only assume you are under the impression that all fathers are into either golf, fishing, or pimping out their gas grills. Here's a reality check: 't'aint so. 1) As anyone who knows him can tell you, imagining my dad on the golf course is like imagining Dick Cheney folk dancing; 2) my dad hates fish, and 3) while my Dad was no stranger to the grill, he was quite happy to let my mom tend the cooking fire while he tended his plate. For my dad, playing hooky from work was more likely to involve canoeing in the Boundary Waters or skiing in the Rockies rather than a day on the links or catching walleye "up north." In most ways, my dad doesn't fit the greeting card picture of a father -- he was never good at sports, isn't into cars, and he never mowed the lawn. For some reason, no one (except me) makes Father's Day cards that feature his favorite hobbies, which include camping, wood carving, and ski patrolling. Unlike the greeting card dads, mine didn’t teach me how to bait a hook, keep score in baseball, or change the oil in the car, but he did teach me how to use a kitchen knife, make an electro-magnet, and string up a self-bailing rain tarp. More importantly, he also taught me to be persistent, to ask questions, and, through his own example, what to expect in a loving, supportive husband and father.
Yes, you greeting card companies have let me down. So I guess it’s up to me. Happy Father’s Day, Daddy! I love you!