When friends responded to my email asking for comments for Fathers Day, one thing became obvious. Losing a father at an early age changes just about everything.

Our local coffee joint is something of a petri dish. You can observe that when new friends begin to explain who they are, they often mention that they had lost a father or mother at an early age. It was a powerful, recurring theme for Dickens and Twain. Poor Harry Potter.

Maybe that’s why finding three generations of fathers and sons (Eric, Andrew and Eric) sitting together is something worth noticing.

Eric will emerge from under the tables where spelunkers his age love to explore, and climb onto the lap of his father, Andrew. Eric will lock an arm around his father’s neck, lean over and whisper something important to his grandfather, the man for whom he was named.

One of the three is a survivor of the Holocaust, one flew combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, one of them Is just now getting himself ready for kindergarten

Pat Shiplett

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Pat Shiplett

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