The Day of Fathers

The legacy we leave our children begins early with character, both ours and theirs.

Dad was a polite radical.  We lived in the south among old ideas about culture and race. Dad had been broadened a bit by the war, perhaps. He'd seen the real world before we settled in the south.  

Dad quietly refused the stereotypical role.  He pushed aside the cultural norms and made room emphatically for the marginalized folks.  We learned to love others by his example and instruction.  As a college professor, he had hundreds of students every year including a large a capella choir; he and mom were parents in situ to the lot of them, and groups of them were often in our home.  Young folks from every corner of the world were part of my life, thanks to him and his great heart.  I so hope to be like him.

Muito obrigado, papa.  :)

(He learned from his dad.  Help-bringers and world-changers start young.)