Dad

Posted by Ken Campbell June 20, 2010 0 Comment 1335 views

When it comes to Hallmark Holidays, Father’s Day has got to be down near the back of the pack. It doesn’t have anywhere near the mass and clout of Mother’s Day, which is, as far as everything I’ve learned, a holy day of obligation for anyone walking on two legs. Mother is the secular saint, whereas Dad is along for the ride, right there with the rest of us. Hell, even us fathers feel that way – there’s no judgment in it. Just the way it is.

Father and Son, the offshore stacks in the photo above, sit about a half-mile out near Cape Alava. Every time I see them, I can’t help but think about what being a father is all about. Together but separate, similar but not the same. The larger of the two sits a little farther out, and takes the full force of the ocean swells. It’s not uncommon to see breaking waves shoot white spume 50 feet up the sides of the big one, while the the “son” is sheltered in relatively calm water behind it.

“It’s the old dog for the hard road and the pups for the pavement,” my own father used to say. It’s funny how that old Scottish expression has stayed with me over the years. I didn’t know how true it was back then, but I have learned. Am still learning. I owe him more than I realize and the only way to fully pay him back is to do for my own son the way he did for me. That’s what Father’s Day is really there for, to remind us not only of the love and shelter that have come before, but to strengthen the resolve for all that is yet to come.

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