TWO OF MY FAVORITE FATHERS

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Everybody needs a father. I had a father, of course, but I never knew him. I can only remember meeting him one time, although I think I met him twice. The first time I was too young to remember and the occasions is just a faint memory. The other time I was a teenager and I have strong memories of that meeting. My father was in a mental institution all of my life. He died there a few years ago.

During my lifetime I have met many wonderful fathers. One great father and a great man that I knew was an elder at the El Monte, California Church of Christ. He was everything I hope to be as a father and a man. Scott Williams was a real man.

Two of my favorite fathers from books, movies and television are Atticus Finch and Charles Ingalls.

Atticus Finch was an attorney and hero of Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. He was a man of conviction who taught with his deeds even more than with his words. Charles Ingalls was a man devoted to his family and friends. He was loyal. He was a man’s man!

What about today? Any good men around now? You bet! I see a lot of them. There are not as many as there should be—but there are a lot of them.

THREE CHEERS FOR GOOD MEN.