cj Sez: I hope all the wonderful dads out there have a Happy
Father’s Day.
Father’s Day, like Mother’s Day, has a history that goes
well beyond greeting cards. The first known American celebration to honor
fathers happened in 1908 at the Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church
South in Fairmont, West Virginia. A Mrs. Grace Golden Clayton wanted to have a memorial
service for the more than 200 fathers who had died in the Monongah mining
explosion that occurred on December 6, 1907. Described as “the worst mining
disaster in American History,” the explosion left some 1,000 children without
fathers.
Two years later, Father’s Day was formally observed in
Spokane, Washington, on June 19, 1910 (the third Sunday in June). It became an
annual celebration there and started events in other towns, but did not become
a permanent national holiday for decades. Congress first introduced a bill to
honor fathers in 1913, but it did not pass.
In 1966, Lyndon Johnson used
his Presidential Pen to issue a proclamation designating the third Sunday in
June to honor fathers. Father’s Day finally became law in 1972, when
President Richard Nixon signed a law declaring that Father’s Day be celebrated
annually on the third Sunday in June.
cj’s note:
According to a National Review analysis, at the time of the Monongah mine disaster
in the early 1900s, fewer than eight percent of kids under the age of ten lived
in a household that didn’t include their biological or adoptive father. Today, more
than one in four kids under the age of ten have absentee fathers. https://www.fatherhood.org/father-absence-statistic
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My father struggled through a harsh life, was raised by a stern grandfather with little expressions of love. Growing up in Detroit, I don’t remember that we ever said “I
love you” to each other but I knew he loved me by the unexpected and thoughtful
things he did for me, like when he walked blocks to a drugstore to get me some medicine and spent money he couldn't afford (he'd been laid off his factory job) to buy me a comic book.
What I remember most about Daddy are his strong hands,
his Swedish accent, his blue, blue eyes, and seeing him dance the schottische around the kitchen on
Saturday mornings when he made breakfast for his family. He died many years
ago, one month before his 61st birthday, and I miss him and cherish his memory still.
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Weather report for the Gulf Coast . . .
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By the by, at the risk of repeating myself . . . as the masthead of Lyrical Pens says, if you have a book (new or old) you want to promote with a blog post, drop me a note. We can arrange a blog date…the only caveat is that this site is PG 13.
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That’s it for today’s post. You-all guys keep on keeping on,
and I’ll try to do the same. Prayers going up for your health and safety this
year.
cj
P.S. The Haunted
Bookshop has signed paperback copies of my books in stock. TO ORDER my author-graphed
books or any book of your choice on-line from an indie bookstore, contact The
Haunted Bookshop here: https://www.thehauntedbookshopmobile.com/contact-us
P.P.S. Pre-signed copies of THE BIG FANG are not yet available
at The Haunted Bookshop, but when you order a book from them and want it
author-graphed, let them know, and I'll pop down there and sign it for you.
Thanks!
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