In America, the birth rate among unmarried mothers now exceeds forty percent, meaning almost one out of two children are raised in homes without fathers. Many of my female college students have illegitimate children, and in most cases, get no financial support from the worthless slobs who sired their children. In some cases, they don’t even know who the father is. What a tragedy.
How different life would be if my father had not been a strong, strict, loving role model! Nowadays, many young people — especially males — try to fill the void of an absent father by turning to drugs, alcohol, and crime.
Sadly, Washington policymakers, who never make sound decisions and who are indifferent to moral rectitude and to the societal burdens they are creating for their progeny, sanction the escalation of illegitimacy by funding entitlement programs that provide money to unmarried mothers so that they can support their out-of-wedlock children, thereby encouraging them to deliver even more fatherless children.
What are these illegitimate children not being taught in households where there is no father? To answer this question, I only have to ask myself not what, but how, my father taught me. He taught by example. He seldom gave advice, mainly because he knew I would follow his example instead of his advice: He lived the way he wanted me to live.
Dad grew cotton, and dealt with his crops as he dealt with his own flesh and blood. To him, crops were children that had to be nurtured to maturity by Mother Nature and him. At dawn every day he walked the fields, looking closely at the plants. I honestly believe that, had he been kidnapped and kept out of his fields an indefinite period of time, once he was freed, he could tell exactly how many days old his crop was.
By example, Dad taught me that if people give their all every day, they are winners; if they give less than their all, they are losers. He never faced any situation without a total commitment to doing the best job possible. So often he would say to me, “Son, you must embrace the difficult struggles in life. Never fear or dread them. Remember, if something is worth having, it’s worth struggling for; if it’s not worth struggling for, it’s not worth having.”
If my father were to be reincarnated, I know what he would be: an eagle. When storms strike, these majestic birds of prey open their huge wings and allow the winds to carry them above the storm; they use storms to soar higher.
That is what Dad did. When life’s storms beset him, he faced and overcame them instead of retreating. He let them raise him to a higher state, mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, and never doubted that doing so would enable him to face future storms with grit and determination, and by virtue of experience, find solutions to them.
I wish my dad a happy Father’s Day: He was an eagle.
Jimmy Reed is an Oxford, Mississippi resident, Ole Miss and Delta State University alumnus, Vietnam Era Army Veteran, former Mississippi Delta cotton farmer and ginner, author, and retired college teacher.
This story is a selection from Jimmy Reed’s latest book, entitled The Jaybird Tales.
Copies, including personalized autographs, can be reserved by notifying the author via email (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)).
