From the mouths of teachers and bibliophiles alike…

Happy Fathers Day to those Dads out there.  Every year when I was younger I would ask my Father for money to go and buy him something along with the card I made in school.  I would buy one of two things; soap on the rope or a war novel - every year!  He always seemed to like it and eventually I was able to earn enough from babysitting, walking dogs or weeding gardens to buy his present with my own money.  My Father was not a great Father, not really cut out to be a role model, too entangled in his own life to guide anyone else but he cared, he still does.  This year I bought him a card and some presents and then thought to invite him over for dinner as I’d run out of money.  Instead, he suggested we go out.  I said, “I can’t really do that, I can’t afford to but why don’t you come here.”  He told me he wanted to go out and it would be his treat, it would make him happy.  So, not so much has changed.  He’s still giving me money for the soap on the rope, except this time it’s a dinner and he still likes it.  Thanks to the Dad’s out there for these selfless acts and so many more.

(Can anyone tell me the point of the rope?  Why is it particularly aimed at men?  As the soap gets smaller, it disintegrates into pieces that fall off the rope….) 

I saw an anonymous quote while hunting for a photo, it seems to fit quite well:

“A Father is someone who has photos in his wallet where his money used to be.”

Today in a bid for freedom from responsibility and circumstance, I detoured to the charity store.  I really love the charity store; not because proceeds made go to worthy causes (that’s good of course), nor because things are relatively inexpensive (also good) but primarily because of the quirky, bizarre, wonderful variety of goods one can find there.  You think I’m going to tell you about just such a purchase and I’m sorry to disappoint you.  I did find two very good books that promise to be interesting reads - one is called, “Mockingbird, A Portrait of Harper Lee,” and the other is titled, “Sway, The Irresistible Pull of Irrational Behaviour.”  Of the second book, I was drawn to it for these words on the back, “A fascinating journey into the hidden psychological forces that cause us to act irrationally in our personal and professional lives.”  Being one who has acted at times in a way others find irrational, I am gratified to discover there may be answers.  Actually, I like being irrational now and again, it keeps others on their toes and certainly makes life interesting.  As for the first book, I am intrigued by the life of the reclusive Harper Lee, famous for her novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird.”  As with all first novels, it’s heavily biographical and her Father was said to be a considerable influence in her formation of the Atticus character.  Lee’s Father was an editor, lawyer and also a senator and she studied law likewise, abandoning her studies just six months before qualifiying.  Instead she went to New York to pursue a writing career, working with Truman Capote as a research assistant on his notorious book, “In Cold Blood.”  A friend offered to support her with her writing and she created the first draft of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” to be her only book.  She did get part way through another book, “The Long Goodbye,” but never finished it.  Asked much later in life why she didn’t write any more, she gave the following response, “Two reasons: one, I wouldn’t go through the pressure and publicity I went through with “To Kill a Mockingbird” for any amount of money.  Second, I have said what I wanted to say and I will not say it again.”  Now I’ve said what I’ve wanted to say too.

(Additional information from Wikipedia and “Mockingbird,” by Charles J Shields)