That picture above is of my father, Philips Bowerman Patton. It hangs on the wall in my office at home. If I am ever on a Zoom call (less frequent, now, than during the pandemic), everyone else on the Zoom call can see my Dad over my left shoulder. In a lot of ways, that's where he always is, backing me up.
As I have mentioned in these blog postings before, my father is one of those "Five Guys" whose guidance I particularly value (and try to follow).
My father's big theme with me (and I needed to have this lesson consistently pounded into my reluctant willingness to believe it) was that I could "do anything." My father started pounding that lesson into me when I was really young (not physically, by the way, just in case you might get the wrong idea). As I say, I definitely needed the pounding. It was only later, when I was in college, that I started "majoring in utopia," which is pretty much what I did, in terms of my undergraduate education.
My Dad never went to college. My time in college convinced me that he knew at least as much as the professors!
I am thinking of my Dad, today (which is what children are supposed to do on Father's Day).
Lots of love, Dad. And many, many thanks!
Image Credits:
Personal photographs, Gary A. Patton
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for your comment!