I gave a talk in church last week and it was suggested that it might be something I should put in my blog and so here tis. Because I changed from the original subject and managed to escape the wrath of the Bishop, my talk was on the bonds that may or may not be between a Father and sons. As a child of the depression, I never saw much of my Dad, He was working in any field he could to try to keep food on the table. We managed to eat although some nights it was oatmeal once again. As a result when I grew older and wondered if my Dad loved me, I excused him knowing he was constantly working. However, as time went on it became more of an un-answered question that concerned me. One night late, I returned from my Navy base and surprised my Mom when I went into their room. She awoke and we were talking softly when my Dad also awoke and instinctively reached over, grabbed me and gave me a hug saying, "Oh Jim, I'm so glad to see you. That answered the question of whether my Father loved me or not. Having that knowledge, I became aware of relationships that I could see were evident between other Fathers and their sons. Two events brought that home to me with amazing clarity. One was when Harmon Killebrew was accepting his award when entering the baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown He said, of his Father , who had passed away a few weeks before, "I wish my Dad was here. No, I know he is". I was very impressed with that obvious bond. Another was when the U.S. hockey team beat the Russians in 1980 to win the gold during the Olympics, The spectators went wild and the first words the goalie said when he left his net were "Where is my Dad"? This again gave evidence of a strong bond that existed between the two. Those two singular events allowed me to think of the question I once held "Does my Dad love me". In retrospect I ached for the answer and was so grateful I had found that the bond I had wondered about was there even though it went unanswered for so long. Relating to those events, a talk was given in church,by a person I held in high regard, entitled "Breaking the chain". The chain he referred to was the chain that stated I shall not show love for my son. That relationship was exemplyfied by his Father and the Father before him. And my friend said I will break that chain and declare my love for my son as often as I can. That attitude now permeates many many Fathers and link by link the chain is being broken. Its acceptable for a man to show emtion and I am content knowing my Dad loved me.
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