My Dad And The Greatest Generation
Posted on Saturday, November 1st, 2008
Today is my Dad’s birthday. We lost him to emphysema when he was just 62 years old. Whether the disease was caused by smoking or by working in an asbestos laden industry doesn’t matter anymore. What’s important is remembering his life, not his death.
My Dad was part of what Tom Brokaw calls “The Greatest Generation”. Not only because he went to War to fight for our country, although that was a part of what made him Great, but because he grew up in a time and place that demanded self-sufficiency. Growing up among loggers, hunters, and fishermen, my Dad learned at a very young age how to survive, how to feed himself and others, and how to earn a living. My Dad worked hard to feed his family, whether at a job earning money, or physically bringing home fish, venison, and other game. Either way, we never went hungry. I think this was the way that most men of his generation saw themselves… as the provider.
The men of “The Greatest Generation” had a harder role to fill; that of a father. My Dad didn’t discuss the War, his childhood, or his feels about those things. Today’s fathers have learned to explore their feelings and share those feelings with their children. My Dad’s generation was raised in a time of struggle, both financial and physical, when getting from sun up to sun down was hard work with little time to squeeze in some fun. Which may be why, when my Dad finally did have time to enjoy himself, he had a pretty good time and a hearty laugh. For me, that is a sad thing to think about. When he got to the age when he should have been able to quit working so hard, and start laughing a bit more, he died.
If your mother and father were a part of “The Greatest Generation”, take some time to think about how they were raised, and then think about your own life and how you were raised by these people. We seldom think of our parents as kids, going to school, going to fight a War, working the farm, or hunting and fishing for food to eat. And then as grown ups, they were just trying to create a life that’s better than the life their own parents had. I guess that’s what we all do. Happy Birthday Dad, and thanks.
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