Yep, it kind of caught me by surprise but this year Gramps turns the big 6-0 today. I don’t know if your birthday cake can support 60 garish flamingoes but hey, one can hope, eh? Your real present is still doing fine as of last check and will be here before we know it. We’re just not entirely sure when… 😉
One can only imagine what it’s been like to be on the ride for 60 years and the changes in the world you’ve seen. From starting out a few months before the end of WWII in Europe and the Pacific to the conflicts of today in the Middle East and everything in between. Seeing that up close and personal through a honorable career and a couple of tours of your own and service over twenty years and beyond for which we should be quite thankful and I assure you that we are.
It’s certainly been an interesting journey so far and as we know, may you live in interesting times is a Chinese curse that actually works. But from seeing the depths of what man is capable of doing to his fellow man, you’ve also seen some pretty amazing achievements along the way. Our first steps into space and men landing on the moon to a time where space shuttles flying over your house became an almost ordinary occurrence. There have been new technologies that have made our lives much easier than what you experienced in your early years on the farm. These things have made our world much smaller and more connected than ever.
And in spite of a demanding and often dangerous career and everything else, you managed to find time to be a father which I’d rank as one of your grandest achievements. Talk about a gig that was like walking the tightrope in a high wind without a safety net beneath you…those years of contending with me growing up were certainly not the easiest on either of us.
But at the end of the day, I think it was worth the tears and joys because in the past few years, I feel that I’ve gotten to understand you far more than I would have ever imagined possible. I could be a smart aleck and remind you of Mark Twain’s famous observation on the relations between fathers and sons but there is quite a bit of truth in it because it means we both learned to understand and respect one another. The understanding is the key. A few weeks ago, I happened to be surfing the channels and ran across a couple of episodes of The Cosby Show. I can see why you took a few pages from Cliff Huxtable’s playbook…it was probably the only way to keep your sanity in the face of appalling idiocy on my part. Maybe Dr. Bill was right after all…kids must have brain damage as it’s the only thing that seems to explain the situation. Just kidding… 🙂
Seriously, one could look at the past sixty years as a time of great sorrow and horrible events but I prefer to see that in spite of man’s base instincts, we as a species have also made some pretty impressive strides forward from those so-called simpler times. Yeah, the pace of life is much faster these days than they were but in a lot of ways, it’s also a fulfilling life. Do we have a long way to go? Absolutely.
But what gives me hope is the part of your 60 years that I’ve seen and the things that we’ve done and knowing that Nicholas and soon his brother will be the next step in that legacy and hopefully I’ll have learned the patience when they’re driving me to utter distraction. I’d like to think that as a father, you did pretty darned good with a lot more obstacles placed in your path than is normal as a parent. And I’d like to think that maybe in my time, I might do as well and try to keep the sense of grace and patience that you showed with me even when I was at my worst.
If I can do that, then I think I’ll be doing the job OK.
Happy birthday…and many happy returns of the day!
