Who's Your Daddy?

Sunday is Father's Day, so I wanted to take a minute and wish all the dad's, including myself, a nice day. It doesn't seem like Father's Day gets the same amount of hoopla as Mother's Day, but I guess that's the cross all dad's have to bear. I know fathers didn't actually give birth, but we were instrumental in creating said bundle of joy. It just seems to me that the role of father's has been made to appear less important than it is.

I'm not nominating myself for "Father of the Year" by any stretch, or saying that all dads are wonderful, Norman Rockwell portraits, but are we really as useless as the media would have you believe? Every sitcom features the stupid dad who is a mess except for the fact that he conned some attractive, brainy woman into marrying him, thus saving him from an otherwise empty life. There are countless stories about women who "don't need or want a man" deciding to have babies and raise them without fathers. This isn't an indictment of single moms who work hard because they were left by some no good "baby daddy", but if you choose not to have a father in your kids life, that's another story. Do you really think it's better for a child to grow up without a father just because you and your "girlfriends" watched one too many episodes of "Sex and the City" and have decided that all men are dogs?

I'm sick of seeing father's portrayed as goofs, control freaks and raving lunatics. Sure we are all of those things at one time or another, but who isn't. Father's are important. I know some are awful, but that's no reason to paint all of us with a broad brush. I can't understand the "fathers" who abandon their children, or ignore them once they have moved onto another family. It happens all the time, but it never ceases to amaze me. Being a dad is a full time, life long commitment. It's sometimes thankless and a burden, but I know it's the most important thing I'll ever do. I may screw up a lot of things, but in the end, the only thing that matters is how good a dad I was. My dad has been gone for five years. I'd be lying if I said I thought about him everyday, but I do remember him. When I think about him, I could dwell on all the different little things, both good and bad, but I choose to look at the overall picture. I had a dad I could count on. I guess I was lucky, but I think that's the story with most dads, and that's the point. Sunday when you wish your dad a happy Father's Day or remember your dad who is gone, try to picture not a caricature dad who wants to drink beer at the hardware store while ogling the ladies, but the guy who would do anything for you and protect you with his life.

Alright, now it's off to the hardware store for a beer. See what I did there? It's called lightening the mood. Happy Father's Day guys. Keep up the good work. If you're up preparing something for Father's Day, or you're just an insomniac, be sure to listen to the big show Saturday night/Sunday Morning from 1-5 am on WGN. During the "Overnight Arcade" we'll be playing father's Day trivia. oh what fun. Have a great weekend! Later...Brian