Progenitors

As soon as she realized her middle boy was missing, she started calling around. It was a relief to learn that two of his friends were nowhere to be found.

America still held a Tom Sawyer view of boyhood. For better or worse, they didn’t think to put kids’ pictures on milk cartoons.

The three ran away because the parents of one them was in his face about something. The other two went along for the ride. Who would notice, really? School wouldn’t start until after Labor Day.

They weren’t but 14 years old, we think — the details of this story are sketchy.

None of the boys had seen an ocean so they decided on California. There would definitely, absolutely, be an ocean there. They didn’t have a map but one of them was sure west was that way.
On duty that weekend were three crack angels from the Bureau of Mildly Incorrigible Boys — and a good thing too. When the boys found a car with keys, they stopped to consider the pros and cons of Grand Theft Larceny. Miraculously, they decided against it. None of them had a license anyway.

They spent one night sleeping in a rusted tractor-trailer cab in a junkyard. One of them remembers the cold. They survived on snacks from filling stations and country stores. They didn’t steal.

The runaways had gone about 50 miles and were approaching Versailles State Park when a friendly older man pulled over to gave them a ride. He’d seen their kind before. They were in luck. He happened to be going their way.
It wasn’t long until he pulled up to a small-town police station and told the boys he was an off-duty officer of the law. He got on the phone and told their parents the kids were here and they were safe and they seemed like nice-enough young men and you don’t need to be too hard on them.

She sent her oldest son to bring them home. He liked to drive his Mercury and she gave him gas money. None of the boys’ parents bothered to go along. There was silence on the way home.

“Your dad and I were worried sick.” his mother told him.

In return for his solemn promise never to run away again she pulled a baking sheet out of the oven. Drop Sugar Cookies — his favorite — soft, not browned. He hated when they got the slightest bit crispy on the edges. She had made them just right and he told her they were pretty good.

Drop-Sugar Cookies For Runaways
2 cups sugar
1 cup shortening
3 eggs
¾ cup sour milk
1 tbsp baking soda in the milk
2 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp vanilla
¾ tbsp salt
5 cups flour
Cream sugar and shortening. Beat until light/fluffy. Add eggs and mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonful. Bake at 375º until they look right and not a second longer.

The rampage began just past noon on a Christmas Day. It was warmer than it should have been, so blame it on the weather.

One of the two shooters had been given a bb gun that morning. It was a pump instead of the Red Ryder cocking model his friend had.

Their first victim was a robin, age and gender unknown. It survived. The second was an 11-year-old kid riding a new Christmas bike — almost certainly a Huffy — the police report didn’t say.

What’s the best thing your father taught you? Some of my buddies answered that question

My father had tattoos on both of his arms. When l was 16 he told me never to do what he had done. I answered “No problem.” and I went along with him. l’ve never regretted my decision. — Eric Blount

The best thing my father taught me was how to love a child! There isn’t even a close second best. — Neil Lukatch

The best piece of advice I ever got was from a long-time friend of my father’s, a few years after my father’s untimely death. He told me If I’m ever really pissed off at someone, to write that person a letter (email today) and sleep on it before sending. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve disregarded that wise info, every time to have regretted my decision.
I would hope that, having ever had the chance to converse with my Father, he would have advised me to: Be myself, try to do well and above all else, have a sense of humor. — Jerry Malsh

For most of his working life, my father drove a Greyhound Bus (in those 1950s days, as American as hotdogs and apple pie). As a child, I sometimes got to go along…From watching him work, I learned that people respond to being treated with respect and dignity… and that working in the service of others is an honorable way to make a living. —Patrick Keoller

Education. Always remember and respect our family name. Always early, never late (this applied to our evening meal and to any business meeting). — George Brigandi

My father gave me very little advice, but always took the time to listen to me and was often skillful at reading between the lines of my conversations with him. I feel now as though he was helping me to trust my own inner guidance. — Steve Starr

My father was big on honesty. He used to say being honest is like being a ‘little bit pregnant.’ Either you are or you’re not. — Brian Cox

The main lesson that I learned from my father is that for most of us, what we do is much more significant and lasting than what we say. It is not so much the specific lessons and habits that my father taught me that have stayed with me, but the example of how he lived his life and demonstrated his values and beliefs through everyday actions. — Bill Lampke

I learned from my father that in the Post Office at the time — and I think it might still be the case — that bosses were called “stupidvisors.”I don’t have a stupidvisor anymore, so you can use my name. — Harold Schlegel

I lost my father in 1981. Since my folks were holocaust survivors we were very close. When he died I took it extremely hard and lost quite a lot of weight and asked why did he had to die before he saw see either of his children marry. I just finished Viktor Frankl’s book “Man’s Search for Meaning.” His mantra is “compromise” which I try to live by. — Rami Hagari

My father was a physician, a devout Catholic, and a very witty man. This is all background for two quotes. “There are three people with whom you need to be totally honest: your doctor, your lawyer, and your priest.” He also had a great admonition. “ Never argue with a fool, because after a while, spectators can’t tell the difference!” — Jim O’Neill

He was an attorney and loved his work… I was proud of him as a professional respected in his vocation. He believed in responsibly caring for his family in the toughest times of the great depression. He took pride in what was his and worked diligently to keep them well-cared for. — Harry Wilson

One thing I remember is that my dad gave me an early appreciation for science. We took numerous trips to the museums and used a small telescope to look at the planets. I have a fond memory of us building paper maché solar systems. — Neal Solomon

Our generation is big on hugs but my dad expressed love by setting examples. I watched him set his own responsibilities and meet them. Sure, his family was most important, but paying the monthly mortgage was also his top priority. — Chris Walker

My father developeda serious illness in midlife. He taught me that it takes the guts to hang in there — Pat Shiplett

Two things my father told me: The purpose of life is to have a positive effect in those who are in one’s life. And, seemly impossible goals can be achieved through perseverance and patience. — Ed Wang

The things a boy, especially a boy, needs to learn from his father — respect for women, the value of work and education, sobriety, dealing with anger and jock itch, etc. — are critical to his growth. And nothing does more good for a man than to teach those virtues to his children.

On this Fathers Day, 2015, nearly one out of four American fathers is not living with his children, and it’s not just in poorer communities. There are theories about why this is happening but one thing is sure, we’re all poorer for it.