Pop’s Day

We know of a caring, generous and all-around lovely woman who turns into a sourpuss whenever the subject of Father’s Day comes up. “A blatant marketing ploy by the card companies to make money,” she scoffs. Then we notice that she always ends up calling dad on his day anyway, to say hello and tell him that she loves him. We should also remind our curmudgeon-before-her-time that Father’s Day in the United States was started by Sonora Louise Smart Dodd in Spokane, Wash., in 1910, long before the idea of big profits was ever a gleam in a card company’s eye. The word father , according to one encyclopedia, is a title of honor given to men who establish anything important in human affairs. So this is a day to say thanks, which is what tonight’s tribute to African-American fathers will do at the JW Marriott Hotel in Century City. Reservations are required, and there’s a $125 donation per person. For information call (213) 641-3761. On a smaller scale, there’s hiking, walking, playing, eating, laughing and talking, all with the man who always promises to watch the big game on television with you, and winds up falling asleep on the couch.