My Father Edward Lowell Barton died on October 2, 1997; he was 79 years old. I am proud to be the son of a man like my Father. As on Mother's Day, my challenge today is remaining brief and not being maudlin. Below are just a few lessons my Father taught me. I encourage you to tell your father what you've learned from him; it's a gift he will not forget. I'm very proud to say that what I've written here I told my Father while he was still with me.
* My Father's loyalty to my Mother taught me to have a profound respect for women. I consider this one of my best traits.
* Though my Father did not have a great deal of formal education, his love of learning was contagious. Happily, I was infected.
* My Father was a WWII vet; landed at Normandy, 2nd wave of D-Day, Infantry. I was in college when the Vietnam War was raging. I clearly recall a conversation after I got my lottery number and we both realized there was a chance I could be drafted. Though I was ashamed of my fear, I was also certain I was not military material. When I told my Father I was considering Canada he said "Patrick, you do what you have to to stay out of this war". My Dad was a proud American and a patriot in the real sense of the word. I learned from that conversation the real meaning of unconditional love. I'm still working on that one.
Happy Father's Day, Dad.
About Me
- Pat Barton
- My most recent single release - "My True North" - is now available on Bandcamp. Open my profile and click on "audio clip".
It's as good as I had hoped. All four of us learned so much from Daddy. Love of learning would be at the top of my list. Next would be to have pride in your work and to to make sure every thing you set out to do you complete to the best of your ability. There was no "good enough" for Dad. I could go on but I too will keep it short.
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