This post is addressed to those of my readers who have not had the privilege of reading Conrad’s post on Fathers Day.
If you will spend some time on Conrad’s post and also on the comments therein, you will see what good parenting can do or not do. My comment there says nothing about my own take on the subject whereas Ashok has used the opportunity to tackle his own issues, the way only he can. I have decided to pay my tribute to Joe and Corky and their descendants by this post.
Conrad’s father Joe about who so much has been written by Conrad and supported by some of his regular commentators who have had the privilege of having been his students, says things about which I can only be in awe and perhaps even envious.
My siblings and I have had a completely different experience with our father, so much so that in his twilight years, my father has had to live a life much different than what he could have had. It is for the record that none of us are templates of our father. And as Conrad points out, our mother had to be there for us to cater to our emotional needs and to encourage us in all that we did. That we did not end up in the Lord Of The Flies situation, speaks volumes for her grit and determination. My sister Padmini wrote about her in her blog and some of you are aware of the background.
The four of us have seen at first hand what parenting can do, in positive as well as negative ways, and as I look back in our own lives, with two of us already in grand parenthood and one about to become a grand father in October, Conrad’s take on three generations of fathers touches a chord like very few things have done in my life for me. It is God’s grace that the four of us have been blessed with good children some of who have become good parents too.
Conrad, here is saluting you for that amazing piece of writing which has come from the very bottom of your heart and I can sense the amount of love and respect that you have for what your father has contributed to your family. Like the many other visitors to your blog, I already know the impact that Corky has had and this post clearly shows the impact that Joe has had in your life. Here is also saluting Joe for being Joe. I hope that he reads this.
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