Ask Dad, he knows.

Please excuse the two month hiatus I've had from blogging. A month long trip to Australia and buying a home are my excuses. Now for what led me back to writing. Charlottesville. Shocking. It's truly difficult to read the articles and watch the videos of the car driving into the crowd. The responses from our nation's leaders and the commentary add to the chaos that ignited Saturday, August 12th. This will not be a summary of the events - there are news sources for that. The purpose of this post is not to discuss First Amendment rights or White Supremacy. The purpose of this will be to give dad's answer to it, as all things done here are. How do I, as a dad, take in and process yesterday's events? How do I, as a dad, look at my growing family and see what I can do to protect them from this violence? How do I, as a dad,  make sure that none of my children grow up harboring such hatred? How do I, as a dad, take all of the facts, thoughts and repercussions of Char

Today is the day we dads have been looking forward to since Sunday, June 19 2016. We relish in the eggs and bacon brought to us, the delicious doughnuts with their chocolate frosting, the coffee maker humming a song as it brews delicious warmth for us. We enjoy the early Sunday morning calm as the sun brightens up our home and our children play in harmony letting us have a pleasant time with our wives. We look forward to the cards with macaroni art, the parchment paper collages which are apt renditions of our ruggedly handsome faces. The ties wrapped neatly in their boxes cannot wait to be wrapped around our necks. Our thoughts drift toward our afternoon barbecue and drinking some cold ones in the backyard. Perhaps today we will save the life of one of our children in a heroic fashion. It could be our son hurriedly running into the street to retrieve a bouncing ball. Foolishly, he did not look for a car while one is coming towards him with alarming rapidity. That's where we,

Never underestimate the power of a dad's love. Whether his love be shown by words of affection, gifts, quality time, acts of service or hugs and kisses, a dad's love is indispensable to his children and can ease a great deal of hurt or need. Discerning how to show love to a child can be difficult at times when balancing everything that life contains, but the gift of love is always a good thing. 

What is music? Notes on a page, rythm, time signatures, flats, sharps, naturals, voices, instruments. All of those are important to music but none are integral. They don't get to the core of the matter. There is A Capella music which does not include instruments. Likewise there are instrumental songs which have no voices. Keys change as well as time signatures. Some music is only percussion. What is the constant? Where does music come from and why do we keep singing it or playing it? A man once taught me that music is the manipulation of emotion into song. I was 7 years old at the time and didn't quite understand it. He repeated it to me over the years and eventually it stuck. Whether the good times or the bad times there is music for the occasion. As a dad I have played for my family and for myself and will continue to do so. Taking the emotion I have inside and communicating that to whomever I am with has been a great source of joy for everyone or a source of healing when ne

This is a special day indeed. Today we celebrate Mothers all over the world but especially the ones closest to us: the mother of our children, our own mother, our grandmothers, mother-in-laws and any women who were like mothers to us. Anna Jarvis (1864-1948) began the push for Mother's Day in 1908. By 1914 the second Sunday in May became an official holiday where mothers all around were typically presented with flowers, cards, gifts and affection from their loving children and husbands. The holiday has progressed and adapted as the society has evolved but the underlying love and appreciation for the woman we call "mom" has remained. As far as dads are concerned this is a great opportunity for our kids to see how we affectionately treat someone who is so important in our lives. We can also teach our sons how to love a special woman and we can show our daughters the admiration and gratitude they will deserve as mothers. To all the moms who make us dads, thank you and

How much affect does something a father says have on his children? How long will those words be remembered? Will they reinforce and define the child? Most words are forgotten and the parent is remembered for being loving, encouraging and supportive. Oftentimes the dad is remembered for not being there or not saying what should have been said. Let’s see how Cal Ripken Jr. remembers his father. Cal Ripken Jr. played baseball for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981 to 2001. He had 3,184 hits, 431 home runs, 1,695 RBIs, 19 All-Star appearances, 2 AL MVPs, 2 Gold Gloves, 8 Silver Sluggers, 1 World Series Championship and he is known as the Iron Man for his streak of 2,632 consecutive games played. This Hall of Fame baseball player is a son of Maryland. He grew up in Aberdeen, MD while his father, Cal Sr., was a professional baseball player. His father and mother, Violet, shaped him to be the man he is. Notably, Ripken enjoys cooking. His mother wanted to make sure the young baseb

A dad must provide. A dad must protect. Perhaps two of the more common answers when the question “What does a dad have to do?” is asked. Other answers are that a dad has to: educate, set examples of good behavior, create good emotional relationships with his children and just be there. All of these are great answers and are essential to the calling of fatherhood that many men respond to but I think there is something more essential and to the core of being a dad that these answers hint at. The first thing a dad has to do is to love. The simplest way to summarize what dads must do is to say they must love. All other roles are subordinate to this one but they are also a fulfillment of love. Providing, protecting, teaching, inspiring, developing, educating, instilling value are all crucial things a dad does – expect individual blogs over the course of the next year on each one of these. All of those are things a dad does and therefore are a manifestation of dad’s love. The usua

Georg von Trapp Today we look at the dad who is played by Christopher Plummer, and who seems reluctant to sing and dance while his children do it so well as Julie Andrews coaches them along. Well, it turns out there is more to this man than the musical shows us and he really lived quite an interesting life. It’s worth diving into and seeing how Captain von Trapp was as a man and a dad. Georg von Trapp was born April 4 th , 1880 in modern day Zadar, Croatia. His father, who was in the Austro-Hungarian navy was Fregattenkapitan August Trapp and his mother was Hedwig Trapp. Fregattenkapitan is a naval equivalent to the U.S. rank of Commander. Georg would follow in his father’s footsteps up to the rank of Korvettenkapitan which is equivalent to the U.S. rank of Lieutenant Commander. Zadar, Croatia - Georg's birthplace   After graduating from the Austro-Hungarian naval academy in 1898 Georg went on a two year follow-on voyage which took him to Australia. On his ret

Of course dads are good for society. Well, good dads are good for society. They provide many different things – some intangible – to the family and thus the society. Good dads are good for society. Bad dads can be very detrimental to society. They can cause harm to their spouses and children and be a drain that ultimately needs to be amended. Just being a dad doesn’t mean you’re a good one. We have to work tremendously hard at it each day. What are we, as a society, looking for out of dads to classify us as good? Perhaps that’s difficult to define. Aristotle noted that family is the fundamental building block of society (in so many words and in Greek for that matter). With that understanding we can see the vital role that a dad has in the society because of the vital role that a dad has in his family. The building blocks of society need good dads. Dads provide stability. We are not leaving our wives husbandless and our children fatherless. We provide a rock upon which our family