Father’s Day So Enjoy It

Today is Father’s Day when we remember our fathers, mainly remembering after they have passed on

By Stephen Pate – Somewhat less frequently we celebrate the fathers who are still alive.

Fathers won’t get a fill measure of praise since the man haters have already started posting stories about lazy and good for nothing husbands. Shame on them.

My father, God rest his soul, worked through pain, illness and disability to support a wife and 5 kids.

He was a role model of hard work, courage, humor and generosity among other great qualities.

My dad was a writer and part time musician, a man who knew sports, politics and history. Despite only a Grade 8 education, he educated himself and became the editor-in-charge of CBC TV news in Halifax.

For most of his life he worked the equivalent of two jobs to put food on the table.

He retired a broken and sick man. Yet, he spent the next 20 years cooking and shopping to help my mother. He took a few months off at the end when he was dying of cancer.

To my dad, I salute the best man I ever met.

Life and relationships are complicated. It might be time for women to celebrate the guys for who they are, even if they are not women.

For guys on Father’s Day, my best advice came from my dad.

“Don’t take shit from anyone, unless they cut your paycheck, and don’t mess with your mother.”