One thing I love about Fathers Day is that the newspapers publish articles about the relevance of fathers. This year it is about the sudden notice by Hollywood that not all dads are bunglers (though the writers have a ways to go to bring any verisimilitude to this new portrayal; it’s hard to unlearn everything you learned being raised by TV) and how a father’s influence can teach children stick-to-it-iveness. It was only serendipity that it was this week that that father in Texas caught his five-year-old daughter’s abuser in the act and very justifiably beat him to death (although merely stopping him was his apparent intention). One thing is for sure there. In another 11 years, when his daughter starts dating, all her prospective suitors will be verrrrrrrrry respectful.

Merely at a glance, I’d call it a bumper crop of pro-dad news this year. It sort of signals that Dads Are Back. To stay, I hope. In fact, that was another article. Staying matters. So here’s to all the dads that are committed to the long haul, until we’re hauled out feet first. We may not make news, but we make a difference. And making a difference is what life is all about.

Cheers.