He that raises a large family does, indeed, while he lives to observe them, stand a broader mark for sorrow; but then he stands a broader mark for pleasure too.
Benjamin Franklin
That is the thankless position of the father in the family — the provider for all, and the enemy of all.
J. August Strindberg
Why would I even put these quotes? Franklin was a terrible father who disowned his own son and Stringberg was a neurotic misogynist who had three wives. They aren’t even that great of quotes. Stand a broader mark for sorrow? The enemy of all? “Yeah dad, see it’s like we’re enemies and you’re sorrowful about cause you got lots of enemies.” Already this is a Father’s Day disaster.
Dads. We all got ‘em! Sounds like I’m selling some dad related product. “Yeah dad, I included all this stream of conscious writing to show you just how hard I worked on this post.” This will get better.
Alright. So yeah, my dad. My dad has filled many roles in the family. He’s brought home the bacon, protected us from danger, and made the tough decisions. My dad gave me my first computer (a monochrome IBM laptop) and was crucial to the purchase of my first guitar. But most importantly my dad has taught me how to appreciate stuff.
Music.
My dad introduced me to music. It was something I had always known was there. When I was young my dad would listen to The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Allman Brothers, Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, and many, many other groups I would come to love later in life. To this day these bands still form the foundation upon which I can trace back all of my appreciation of pop music. Bands like The Ramones and The Clash were discovered with the help of my dad and Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Alex Chilton, The Blasters were pilfered from his collection. I probably would have been single and lonely in high school if not for this crucial good taste in music. I can easily say that many of my favorite bands (Dr. Dog, Radiohead, Pixies, The Brother Kite, and more) are my favorites because of music my dad shared with me.
History.
There was this World War II book my dad had which I always loved to read. That was probably the first clue I liked history, but it became much clearer when my dad would explain to me the complex stories beyond various rock groups, pop people, and political movements (though we would later see differently from time to time on that last one). The stories of the past were very fascinating to me and through my dad’s retelling of them it became clear to me the relevance that history had to our everyday life. And so now I’m a History major.
I know it hasn’t always been easy for my dad. We have both have very different perspectives on how one solves problems and if I had a nickel for every time I was forced into a uncomfortable situation to build “character” I’d be financially secure for the rest of my 20’s. But I’ve always understood that my dad wanted the best for me, even if we disagreed on what that might be. I’m very fortunate to have a dad who’s as present in my life as he is.
And here’s some pictures I found.
My dad also taught me the importance of breaking rules a lot, as pictured here. I know this was 1998, but seriously look at what we’re all wearing…
My dad and I at my 8th grade graduation I think? Look at me, it’s like I’m saying “GORSH!”
My dad taught me that there was nothing too important to sleep through. Here one of my 7th(and 8th) grade teachers makes light of my dad being awoken from slumber. My father is clearly not pleased.
So that’s all I really got to write right now. Thanks for being my dad, dad.
