CLEVELAND — I have done this thousands of times.
Tens of thousands of times.
Stringing a necktie around my collar, flourishing it with a flip, and then neatly knotting the cloth at the neck.
Simple.
But when I first attempted to tackle a tie it was with the unsteady and fumbling fingers of a first-timer.
In my boyhood it was my insistent dad coaching me.
In my memory, I can still hear his voice.
"At a certain point in life, a boy needs to wear a tie sometimes," said Dad. "You've reached that point."
But this is about more than a tie.
The necktie story introduces my thoughts on Father's Day.
The day is set aside as a time to honor fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, or relevant father figures.
Throughout the world, there are similar Father's Day observances. The day honors the influence of fathers in society.
Maybe your thoughts about Father's Day may not be precious or memorable as those of someone else. But the day can be one to celebrate or honor a father-like figure in life. a grandfather, stepdad, uncle, neighbor, educator and family friend. Maybe even an older brother may have played a role in your life. This day is about them, too.
So on this day, I think of lessons learned from a man who taught me about discipline, kindness, and many other things I would need to understand as I followed the pathway from childhood into manhood.
Decades later I have become both father and grandfather, passing along to the next generations what was given to me.
My dad died a few years ago but his wisdom lives in me.
Interestingly, most of what I learned from Dad came from observing him. He modeled the kind of man I wanted to become.
Through the years, the old photographs of Dad and me become even more precious.
So in my own maturity now, I am reflective and thank the man who gave me lessons in life. And love. And who pointed me in the direction I should go.
So although I am in the simple gesture of tying a necktie, these are not just my hands fashioning the fabric.
The shadow of Dad's are there, too, showing me as he did that first time.
His were the same hands which nurtured and loved me and pointed me into my own future.
A Father's Day story of a dad and his child. A story of the tie that binds.
Happy Father's Day.
From Leon.
