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Good dads are precious. I was lucky enough to have one. I wrote a version of this thread last year for Father's Day. I added to it and am posting it again. Someday soon, I'll write up all his stories. He's 86 & frail. I'm not sure how much time we have left. #HappyFathersDay2020
Thread: Today, I've been thinking a lot about my dad. He was a marriage & family therapist for most of his life, until he retired at the age of 77. He got into therapy to take parenting classes—to become a better dad to his kids following his divorce from his first wife. 1/5
He served in the Army Air Force after college in the intelligence division. Stationed in the UK, he gathered evidence to build cases agst weapons smugglers & cigarette smuggling rings. This made him decidedly unpopular. 2/5
He was an activist-- agst the Vietnam war & for the integration of the Providence & Pawtucket school systems. Using the skills he learned in the army, he protected a pacifist community from a group of white supremacists. As their cars barreled toward the activists' HQ, 3/5
he shot out their tires. He also started a prison counseling program, taught parenting to teen moms, and worked as a guidance counselor. He truly made a difference. He did all this with raging ADHD at a time where there were no meds. He tried to be a good dad, to give more 4/5
he took, & to express love. He has an innate optimism he's always kept, despite suffering great loss at several points in his life. I don't know how he does it. I am grateful to have him as a dad & role model. 5/5
