SAMW CAFE for Sunday June 18, 2023.

Go figure, I’ve been thinking about fathers lately.  A friend just lost his dad, and two weeks ago a number of us mutual friends were on hand to support him at the service.  Myself, this will be my second fatherless Father’s Day.  On the opposite side, the other night I saw a great guitar player on stage.  After the show, I asked him, “how’s the little one doing?”  He pulled out his phone and showed me a picture of his one year old (?) daughter.  Instant glow of life from her photo to him.  “I love being a Dad,” he gushed.

Late this Fall my nephew expects to become a Dad.

In our culture, we make our dads our first superheroes (let’s not forget the enormous efforts of our mothers, which we thought of last May 14th).  And as you read this, I hope you have a good relationship with your father.  We know it does not always work that way with our parents, in some cases to the extreme point of abuse.  Dad may be our first superhero, but Dad – like Mom – is only a human being underneath.

*[Fortunately, my parents were great…I learned along the way how special they were]

So like I said, I hope you and your father have a good relationship.  If you are a dad, I hope you have a good relationship with your kid(s).  I hope Father’s Day will be a day of warmth and celebration.  And that’s what I will be emphasizing through the music this Sunday morning on the SAMW Cafe.  Maybe you will even find a bit of your dad in the songs.

For example, there will be Dad the Storyteller.  Dad who seems to have some trinket in his garage workshop or a corner of the yard that is just what a friend or neighbor needs.  Of course, some dads are the classic Mr. Fix It (those genes seem to have skipped me).  One of our SAMW instructors will commemorate Dad who takes you fishing.  The song talks about sons and brothers, but I want you daughters who’ve enjoyed going on the boat with Dad to consider yourselves included.

Too bad I don’t have a song about those “Dad Jokes.”  Or about Dad showing you how to dribble a basketball without looking at it, only to have it bounce back weirdly from hitting a pebble to break his pinkie.  Sorry, about that, Dad.  Glad you turned it into a funny story.

Of course, Father’s Day falls in Pride Month and the day before Juneteenth.  I may have a song that wraps them all up together.  So that all of us enjoy a special day together, wherever we may be.

Thanks for reading this.  See you Sunday morning between 8 and 10 on WUMB.

-Perry Persoff.