Several years ago, an auto accident claimed the life of a singer and song writer named Harry Chapin. As is the case with many song writers, Chapin was actually a poet and philosopher who used music to expound upon the nature of life.
Probably the most famous song that Harry Chapin wrote was titled “The Cats in the Cradle”. It was about a fellow who was on his way up in the world and was too busy to spend time with his son. The young achiever was away on a business trip when his son was born. A few years later the son wanted his father to play ball, but dad was too busy and didn’t have time to play. Later, the father had arrived at his successful plateau, but his son was too busy in college to spend time with his dad. Finally the events had come full circle and now that the father was retired and wanted to spent time with his son but, the boy had learned too well from his father and was too preoccupied with becoming a success to spend time with his dad.
Perhaps it was the way I was raised but, I have always associated angling with family activities. Even though angling is often perceived as a male sport, it is most assuredly not so. Girls can go fishing just as readily as boys. Recently I’ve been noticing all of the advertising the newspapers and on TV aimed at selling various and sundry Father’s Day gifts. There are some great gifts to be had out there and I wish all the merchants well, but nonetheless, I sometimes think that we are placing too much emphasis on the material aspects on life and too little on the fact that Father’s Day ought to be a celebration of how much we appreciate our fathers.
A shot story written by O. Henry, “The Gift of the Magi”, exemplifies the spirit of giving. In it, a husband and a wife each give up something that is materially most valuable in order to give a gift which they think their spouse would appreciate most. The husband sells his prized watch, so that he can buy a beautiful comb for his wife. And the wife sells her hair to a wigmaker so she can buy her husband a chain for his gold watch.
If your father, or husband is an angler, hunter or outdoorsman of any sort let me make a recommendation for a Father’s Day gift. First buy him a material sort of gift that pertains to his favorite outdoor pastime, a fishing rod, new hunting vest, binoculars, you get the idea . Then give him the important gift, the one that no one can give to him but you, offer to take him out to use his new possession for the first time, or in the case of wives, give him a hand written weekend pass, exempting him from all household chores for the weekend of his choice, so that he can get out and enjoy his outdoor sport. Offer to accompany him if he wishes, or for you to stay at home with the kids if that is what he would prefer.
What the heck, make it an annual tradition, Every Father’s Day he gets a weekend pass. Such traditions are the glue which holds families together. When I was a kid, we had nursed an injured hawk back to health and had grown quite fond of him. Dad insisted that we let the hawk go free, even though we would never see him again. Dad told us that the greatest gift one could give was freedom, even if it hurt to give it. I don’t think that I’ll ever forget the sight of that hawk as he soared away over the oaks to freedom. Make this Father’s Day one that he’ll never forget. Give him the gift of yourself.
Until next week, Tight Lines
