An elderly father wrote his son a letter. The son was serving a lengthy sentence in the state prison. The father wrote: “Son, I miss you terribly. We are coming up on Father’s Day soon and now I am an old man. I fear I will never see you again. How I wish you could be with me. My health is poor and time is fleeting. I am unable to prepare a back yard garden this year. The soil is so hard to dig and I am very weak. If you were here, you would be able to dig it up for me. Maybe I can hire someone to dig up my garden. Oh how I wish you were here. Love, Your Dad.”
A few days later a letter arrived at Dad’s house. The return address on the envelope said “State Prison.” He tore it open to find these words: “Dear Dad, Please do not hire anyone to dig up the back yard. That is where the bodies are buried! How I wish I could be there with you. I love youvery much. Your Son.”
Two days later a swarm of law officers and FBI agents surrounded dad’s house. They broughts hovels and digging tools. By the end of the day the entire yard had been dug and sifted. Three days later, another letter arrived from his son. It read: “Dear Dad, That was the best I could do under the circumstances. Happy gardening and happy Father’s Day! Your loving Son.”
Sometimes we hear the lament: Where has all the American ingenuity and creativity gone?Well, a lot of it is behind bars! And perhaps more of it should be in jail. Our prisons are jammed with petty criminals while, as some commentators have said, the people who have stolen America blind have simply received vast bonuses and are richer than ever. Creativity and ingenuity haven’t disappeared. They are qualities that are just not as focused on the common good as they once were. But that’s a column for another day. I wanted to write today to say that it’s not too late to do something sweet for your dad.
We don’t focus much on Father’s Day. That’s okay, of course. Dads are pretty laid-back about special recognitions like this particular day. We dads really don’t much expect any fuss over us. We get great pleasure in celebrating days like Mother’s Day. However, we freely become blubbering sentimentalists about our wives and mothers. We’re a little embarrassed when the affection is heaped on us. But what father doesn’t relish the Father’s Day phone call that simply says, “I love you, dad. Happy Father’s Day.”?
It’s not too late to say, “I love you dad!” It’s never too late for that. It’s sometimes hard to know how to say it to dads. This is because dads sometimes have a hard time talking about love, even with the ones they love most. This being a common circumstance, it may call forth your special ingenuity and creativity. Like the jailbird son, sometimes you have to just do the best you can.
I promise you, nothing can soften the crustiness of an old dad or granddad like arms around his neck and a smooch on the cheek from someone he loves but whom he has had trouble telling that person so.
Harold Bales is a retired Methodist minister who is a big ol’ softy on Father’s Day, and everyother day of the year. Contact him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
