Bemoaning the fact that his
kids don’t pat him on the back
more he asked his wife rhetor-
ically, “Do you recall praising

your mom and dad for much
of anything when you were
growing up?” Then he said
proudly and without hesitation,

“Me? I was selected to be
on a panel of outstanding
high school students at our
public high school…no,

really, seriously, dear, I was.
Back to what I was saying: I
was on this panel and we were
asked what our families had

done to help us along our then
short way. They didn’t say,
‘then short way.’ When it came
to my turn, I said I was really

happy that my mother and
father provided a caring,
loving Christian home. The
moderator of the panel in a

near knee-jerk reaction inter-
jected that surely I meant some
kind of all-encompassing relig-
ious upbringing. Well, I didn’t

but, after all, I was just a
high school kid speaking out
of his own parochial experience
in a public high school. It was-

n’t until years later I under-
stood what the moderator felt
compelled to interject and, of
course, by that time I concurred.

That being said….” “That’s
enough being said, dear,” his
wife said, emphatically. “Yes,
we all wish our kids would

affirm us more than they do,
but we didn’t and they won’t
and that’s that,” she chimed
in with a note of finality.