Communication For Tough Issues

I remember growing up in an oil town in West Texas where I went to church and later graduated from high school and attended the local junior college.  Our family business for most of my school days was a service station where we pumped a lot of gas, hand washed a lot of cars, fixed flats, greased cars, and everyday was filled with long hours with the smell of gas and oil on my clothes and hands.  I never thought I would have normal hands again in my life from all the oil and gas stains.  In that part of my life, I found being a kid from West Texas was about flat top hairstyles, crew cuts and pretty well the “beaver-cleaver” look. Long hair, tattoos and body piercing were not in the conversation or world I lived in at that time.  What made matters worst, I later went to work in the healthcare industry and clean-cut, business appearance was the world I worked and lived within.  Then add going to church in the “bible belt” and the stereotype was set.

"Old man take a look at my life - I'm a lot like you."

By Casey Clark

The title of this article comes from a song by Neil Young. "Old Man" is not meant as an insult; rather, it is a song of common ground. I've known this song for at least ten years now and have sung it for as many years. I am, at twenty-seven years old, the young man singing to the old. I am the son saying to the father, "I'm not so different than you, you know." "Look into my eyes, you can tell it's true." And it is true. Fathers, your children are more of you than you sometimes care to know.

A Simple But Profound Truth for New Dads