Character

Character

“Reputation is for time; character is for eternity.”

J.B. Gough

My dad passed away ten years ago, and I miss him and think of him often. I was reminded about the number of people who responded to the post I wrote about him and thought I would reprint it here as I felt honored and comforted by their condolences. What really struck me were how many of my friends and readers had lost their fathers and their comments about their dads’ dedication to their families.

One of my readers wrote about how his dad had come to the U.S. at 5 years old, with his 6-year-old brother, on a steamer, without his parents. It took his grandparents many years to get their whole family to the United States.

Though his dad owned nothing when he arrived, and spoke not a word of English, he worked hard in school and eventually became a podiatric surgeon. His practice was beginning to thrive, but when the depression hit, he lost everything. The only job he could find was to drive a bus, and he took it because he had to support his family, which he did. His son became an M.D.

Many of you wrote about your dads’ harrowing war experiences, and how they overcame those experiences to love and raise their own children.

The word that comes to mind in reading about your fathers is “character,” which seems best defined by the sacrifices we make for others.

I am so grateful for that quality in my dad and grateful to all those dads who provided for and took care of their families. That is who I’m modeling my life after, because my parents had those qualities and passed them on to me.

Thank you again, Mom and Dad. I greatly appreciate everything you’ve done. And thanks to all of you, who’ve shared your stories with me.

-Hank