foot notes

Poor old Dad!

He goes to work each day and all he wants is a little quiet when he gets home. Is that too much to ask?

Mothers and fathers initially come in pairs--but sometimes they are so different you would never know it. Maybe it’s because kids have a hard time appreciating the “tough love” that fathers often administer, or maybe it’s somehow unmanly to enjoy having someone fuss over you, or maybe it’s because Dad is just an emotionally unavailable guy who would rather watch the basketball finals on TV. But Father’s Day runs a distant second to Mother’s Day in several categories.

* Father’s Day was created almost as an afterthought to Mother’s Day. First celebrated in Spokane, Wash., in 1910, it was the brainchild of Sonora Smart Dodd, who got the idea while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon. It was not until 1956 that Father’s Day was recognized by Congress and not until 1972 that it became an official holiday, 58 years after Mother’s Day was created.

* According to AT&T;, Mother’s Day is its busiest holiday for long-distance telephone calls--to the tune of 151 million in 1998. Christmas is second. Father’s Day doesn’t come close--129 million in 1998. But over the years, Father’s Day has consistently scored the highest number of collect calls of any holiday. Some AT&T; experts predict that with fathers taking a more active role in their children’s lives, the gap in calling volume might eventually close.

* One good thing about dads--they never complain about not getting gifts. It would be unmanly. On the other hand, you could take Dad to the free Father’s Day concert at 5 p.m. Sunday at Warner Park, 5800 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills. Or you could go with the usual shirts, ties, bottles of after-shave, photos or whatever. Or better still, you could just tell the big galoot that you love him.

*

“One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.”

--17th century English proverb.

“It doesn’t matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was.”

--Anne Sexton, American poet.

Last month, Mom had her day; this Sunday, Dad has his. *