Well, like many Americans, I shopped for a Father's Day card this week. After looking at five stores for the perfect card for Dad, I'm left with this burning question: Why do greeting card makers lie? They don't just fudge a little or embellish the truth a hair. They flat out lie when they write these cards. I have never met a father anything like the uber-dads these cards fabricate. Card after card carried sentiments that I would never express to my father.
Each year, I've been able to find a card that said something like, "Dad, happy Father's Day. I love you." It's usually a search, but it's never been like this before; I mean, five stores! It took that long to find a card that listed qualities that my dad actually posesses without sinking into hyperbole.
Is my Dad a criminal? Is he an abusive animal? No! He's a stand-up guy: honest, brave, caring, true (a real-life Boy Scout - literally, he was a troup leader and everything!) One of the things I respect the most about my father is that he is a great Dad, always giving me the best he had - always there for me - in spite of his weaknesses and shortcomings. And because he isn't perfect, he doesn't expect me to be. But the cards I found this week were written about somebody who doesn't exist - a super father who never makes mistakes. Or else, they were crude and insulting attempts at juvenile humor, or something meant to be given by a five-year-old.
So, I'm throwing this wish out into cyberspace: I'd like a line of Father's day cards with realistic, honest, simple sentiments. Or even better, a nice card that says, "Happy Father's Day" on the cover and is blank on the inside. Maybe next year, I'll just write him a letter. He'd probably like that better, anyway.
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4 comments:
Your point is that you couldn't find a card that simply said "You're a great dad." You are a liar. I almost doubt you even went and shopped for a damned father's day card. If you did, you had made up your mind to write this inane "any-person-usa" blog entry long long before you picked up the card. What on earth did you think you'd accomplish by saying what you said in this entry? Just stop. Next time stop and think to yourself "so what?" Look at the last line of your penultimate paragraph, you start to bring up a good point about the nature of the cards you did find. Why didn't you explore this more in the rest of your entry? Instead you handed us pure unadulterated blandness. Next thing you know, you will be telling us that "there is no light at the end of the tunnel." Just stop. Pause. Rethink. Adapt. React. Readapt. Apt.
a. nahnemaus: I'm glad you were apparently able to find your dad a nice card for Father's Day. I hope what you wrote left him feeling very encouraged!
a.nahnemaus
Surely when you die, wisdom will perish from the earth.
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