Model father

To the editor:

I should tell you something I saw that many of you have longed to see. I was in Checkers over the noon hour last Friday. I saw a man who had three children, two girls and a boy, with him, presumably his own. They all appeared to be under 12 years of age. If these were not his own children, he was doing an excellent job of standing in.

This man was carrying on in the manner of a model father. He frequently hugged and kissed them, sometimes lifting them off the ground and swinging them around. This and other things he did with them put these children in delight of him. Yet, at the same time, he wasn’t allowing them to do things that were out of order. The discipline he used was mostly firm reminders to watch their careless talk or to not interrupt him while he was talking to someone else. But in light of the way he treated them, they respected him for his discipline.

I’m sure many grown people have wished that they’d had a father like this. Sir, my tribute is to you and all fathers like you. If you see yourself here, please tell us about the secret of your source for the energy and the desire to be such a father. Incidentally, I just realized I was writing this on the day before Father’s Day. So happy Father’s Day to you model fathers.

Roger Sprecher,

Lawrence