“You, you may say I’m a dreamer…”
Dateline: Life
Dear God.
I am sitting alone in a hotel room, I am supposed to write an upbeat story of the young B.A.S.S. Nation High School anglers, a story of joy, of love, of inspiration, and yet, yet.
Dear God.
Nine innocent people lay dead in a church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Please take a moment of silence for those victims, please pray to the Father of us all:
Father, please bring peace to our souls.
Father, please bring love to our hearts.
Father, please bring understanding to our minds.
Father, please take your hand that guides and lead us from the fury within.
Father, save us.
Dear God may their souls rest in peace.
I’m sorry but I couldn’t write of happiness, without mentioning the sadness.
Wow, just wow.
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Column starts now:
“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we knew we could be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
“My dad gives all his time to me and my sister, if I have learned anything from my dad, something that I will always take with me from him it is to be, generous.” Morgan Winegardner, 16-year-old High School angler from Maryland speaking about her dad, Bret.
Bret wasn’t within earshot of my interview with his daughter but brother, you have inspired your child to be generous.
Generous. Morgan you can change the world by being generous, your father has shown you through your 16 years of life that it is not about what you take, but about what you give, that is important.
Bret, your days of father, have paid off.
“My father is a mechanic, works on cars, he’s showed me how to be determined how to do my best.” Joe McClosky, 15 years old, Morgan’s High School Teammate.
It is the innocence of the young, which inspires me.
The words they speak before the world plays smash mouth with them.
In my soul I believe we have this whole LIFE thing backwards, we should begin as crusty old closed minded pain in the arses and work our way in life backward to young, open minded, fresh idea innocent beings.
Argue as much as you want with that thought but look around, ask yourself this, how is the world doing with us old people running it.
Trust me the best advice I have ever seen in my entire life was a sign on my daughter’s nursery school wall and it said exactly this:
WE SHARE & NO BITING
As adults, we still can’t figure that out.
“…but I’m not…”
“My dad is a school teacher, he puts all his kids in front of himself, he goes out of his way to help people, my Father has taught me to not be selfish, to help people whenever I can.” Nick Fulks, age 18, West Virginia High School Team.
Nick buddy, your dad inspires in you, Benevolence.
Benevolence is helping before you are asked, and giving without expecting anything back. It is not a handout, it is a helping hand.
PS: It is not only his students that your father has taught well young man.
“My dad is a policeman, he has taught me that if you are determined to do something that you will be able to do it, and he has also taught me right from wrong.” John Eckels, age 16, West Virginia High School Team.
Amen John, Amen is about all I can say to that.
“…the only one…”
“I think I’m inspired by my father to do the right thing, he has also taught me to respect people.” Austin Gaab, Age 15, Pennsylvania High School Team.
Austin, truth here, Respect is a tough one, I tell my children the same thing, but to be honest I sometimes have a hard time with that myself. You see, I believe in the THEORY of human beings, but sometimes, humans get in the way of that belief.
I do this Austin, I believe in my heart that every child born, every baby is born perfect in heart and soul, the perfect ideal of human, for some along the way, things go bad. If you believe in good son, you have to believe in evil.
Believe in your heart all people are good, pray for those not, respect and love those who are. It’s about the best we can do my friend. That’s all I got.
“Manners, I’ve learned from my father how to be a man, how to have manners. I think manners are important, I think all the things that go along with manners are important, dad has shown me that.” Jacob Jones, 16, Austin’s Pennsylvania teammate.
Jacob, as you say, “all things that go along with manners,” there is a name for that, it’s called…Civilization.
We are the only species on this entire planet that can say, Thank You. The only ones who know what that means.
And yet, we say it so few times, and yet we have to be reminded to say it, we have lost graciousness of speech amongst one another. How many times do you see the word “polite” written, the word, “courteous,” written.
Jacob take the inspiration from your father, and do me this simple favor, do civilization this simple favor, make the first words you say in the morning be, “Thank You,” make the last words you say at night be, “Thank You.”
Your world will change because of it.
And you may change ours as well.
“…I hope someday…”
“My dad always tells me to treat people the way I would want to be treated and I know he means it because that is how he treats people.” James Graves Jr, 18 years old, Virginia High School Team.
“How to be a real hard worker, my dad has always told me to show by example, show by example he always says, and is what he does, just by watching how he acts, what he does, show by example is how he inspires me.” Kadin Thens, Age 17, Virginia High School Team.
“Be level headed, be fair with people, have a positive attitude.” John Stevenson, Age 16, New Jersey High School Team.
“It important to work hard in life, but it’s also important to have fun, balance things in your life.” Gabe Smyk, Age 16, Delaware High School Team.
“Take care of one another, help each other, respect each other, take care of one another is what he tells me all the time.” Tyler Lowrey, Age 15, Delaware High School team.
“…you will join us…”
To the fathers of: Morgan, Joe, Nick, John, Austin, Jacob, James Jr., Kadin, John, Gabe and Tyler, I believe you may have just gotten the greatest Father’s Day gift of your life.
Your children, they are a listening.
Your children, they are a watching.
Your children, they are a learning.
From You.
Your days of father have been well spent, your days of father have not been wasted.
Your days of father have given the world a gift, a gift wrapped as your children.
Well done.
Days of father, a success.
“…and the world…”
My father, Donald L Barone, Sr, saw his mother and younger sister, die when he was about six.
My father, Donald L Barone, Sr. spent a good deal of his life in an orphanage.
My father, Donald L. Barone, Sr. was a grunt in the United States Army and fought in the Pacific Theater for years one island at a time.
My father, Donald L Barone, Sr. spent his entire adult life trying to eek out a living and raise his three children on a Sears refrigerator sales person’s meager commission.
And yet through all of that his humor remained.
And yet through all of that he was decent.
And yet through all of that, through all of that, he was kind to others.
My father and I pretty much never got along, more my fault than his, I was a punk teenager, he was not.
We went our separate ways, later in life, after I was married and had kids, we became close, love came late, but love came.
Alzheimer’s ravaged my father’s brain, took his memory, took his understanding, took his ability to function from him.
In his eyes though, you could see decency.
In his eyes though, there was a flash of humor.
In his eyes though, there was caring.
“My father inspired me to be fair, to be decent, to have fun, but most of all, my father inspired me to love and help other people, to be gentle and kind to all, my father inspired me to love.” Donald L. Barone, Jr., Age 63, Team B.A.S.S.
“…will live as one…”
Imagine
John Lennon
“I was built up from my dad more than anyone else.”
John Wooden
Happy Father’s Day,
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