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Husband, Man |
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| L ast Father's Day, I read an article that made me want
to seek out the author and rip him (or her, don't want to be sexist) a new
one. It was Father's Day, and this guy (or girl) was listing the types of
dads there are these days. It was a sort of list of fatherly
personality
types. T his author listed a few, like "The 90's Dad," who is a failure at work 'cause he thinks he should spend all of his time at home with the kids, and as a result he can't pay the rent; or the "TechnoNerd Dad," who is at his computer so much the kids think his butt is glued to the office chair. Also mentioned was the ever popular "Boomer Dad," a.k.a. the "Let everything all hang loose, including his new Hair Club for Men ponytail, Dad". Y ou get the picture. W hat really pissed me off about this person's piece was at the end, there was no payoff, no ". . . but we really love our Dads, 'cause of how hard they work" or whatever. The put-down was the payoff, and the point: "Let's Bag on Dads on Father's Day". I have been a dad for almost six years. I work my ass off, I try to teach things I never learned (you know, the things we learn the very, very, hard way...), and I try to teach with respect. I give real love, time, attention, and then some more respect. I do it, live it, every day. A nd yes, I fuck it up sometimes too. T his little weekly creative writing exercise is intended to be both a sharing of some experiences, as well as a response of sorts, to those who feel it is okay to bag on all "Fathers In Arms." Dads are not merely a sort of ever-available, evil authority figure for those individuals who belong to the "When there is no one else to rebel against, let's get Dad," crew. (Coincidentally this crew is composed of many of the same members as the: "When in doubt about the world's problems, blame the men," crowd, who have close ties to the "I am a perfect wife, my husband is a dick" support group). O ver time, I will be addressing each of these different groups in turn. A s this medium is as supposed to be interactive, I encourage anyone who reads this column to reply, question, agree, or disagree (preferably to disagree - arguments are more exciting than love-ins... sometimes) via e-mail or in the forums. L ook at it as a way to tell your dad the things that you would never tell him to his face, 'cause although you are now an adult, there is still the fear that he can still go and get his belt. (Oh, and if my dad drops by, you guys have never heard of me.)
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