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The Best Dad Ever
Making Father's Day Special for Everyone By Mark Stackpole
-shirt with the shiny decal of Dad's astrological sign, purchased mostly because I thought the glittering decal of Leo the Lion was cool. The fact that Dad had never read a horoscope in his entire life never even entered into my decision. I cannot count how many coffee mugs Dad received over the years some with his name, others with some clich袠statement about the quality of his parenting. Many of those mugs might have been lies was he really the "Best Dad Ever"?
Good gifts? Probably not. Gifts given with open hands and loving hearts? There is absolutely no question. Dad was always kind of hard to please, so my sister and I worked hard to try to give him things that he would like. Every year, we were sure that there was going to be one perfect gift that would make him smile or perhaps even laugh. Something that would make his stony face light up while he showered us with enthusiastic affection. Needless to say, despite our efforts, I don't think that we ever found our Holy Grail. His smiles always ended up being thin, his laughter unconvincing. That shower of affection seemed too much to even ask for.
As the years wore on, our gifts were given warily rather than joyfully. Heck, during the last Father's Day or two, he didn't even bother to open them. He would take them from us and set them down next to his chair, rarely taking his eyes off of the television. To his credit, he did say, "Thank you." His politeness did not ease the burn in our hearts.
When Dad passed away in 1994, we found some of those old gifts at the bottom of his closet, most still in their original packaging. There were apparently a few that he never got around to unwrapping. A pair of those brown moccasin slippers sat in a cheap shoebox, their tread pristine. That dated Leo the Lion decal was still glittering and shiny. The shirt itself was deeply creased because it had never been unfolded. A gold-plated razor sat in its wooden box, the unused blade still sharp.
I was 24 years old when my father died, but when I saw thi
