Answering your Father's Day questions

I always wondered how Father’s Day came about, so as I normally do when I want to know something, I Google it.

Well, what do you know? The following is taken from the Web site www.morning-glow.com/holidays/father/father.html, which explains how Father’s Day came about.

The idea for creating a day for children to honor their fathers began in Spokane, Wash. A woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd thought of the idea for Father’s Day while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909.

Having been raised by her father, William Jackson Smart, after her mother died, Sonora wanted her father to know how special he was to her. It was her father who made all the parental sacrifices and was, in the eyes of his daughter, a courageous, selfless and loving man. Sonora’s father was born in June, so she chose to hold the first Father’s Day celebration in Spokane, Wash., on the 19th of June, 1910.

In 1926, a National Father’s Day Committee was formed in New York City. Father’s Day was recognized by a Joint Resolution of Congress in 1956. In 1972, President Richard Nixon established a permanent national observance of Father’s Day to be held on the third Sunday of June.

So Father’s Day was born in memory and gratitude by a daughter who thought that her father and all good fathers should be honored with a special day just like we honor our mothers on Mother’s Day.

And now we know.

Now someone define the term father. No, do not Google it, but tell us what you believe the term father means. Does it mean the same as dad or daddy?

Last year I paid homage to the mothers of this world who have been forced, for some reason or another, to take on the role of both mom and dad or mother and father. I salute these individuals with great pride, for as some know such is the case with my mother, Evangeline Baca-Tripp.

To say I owe my mother the world is an understatement. My mother, as many women have done and still do, took on the challenges of the world to make sure their children are fed and have that little, if any, spending money.

Like a mother bear who tends to her cubs and protects them, that is a mother, especially a single mother.

When we think of single parent moms, we sometimes think the negative and use the “D” word (divorce), but there are times in which a mom becomes a single parent due to other circumstances as well.

But what about the single parent dad? What, you think this does not happen? This is something we forget about, because we as men sometimes are spoken about, as a whole, in a negative way. You have heard it. But believe it or not, there are men who have had to take on the role of single parent as well. In the latest statistics, 16 percent of men today are single parents.

Just as a single mom, a single dad must also assume a dual role. So I want to salute all the fathers out there who have taken on and accepted this role with dignity and pride.

Believe it or not, if you are a single parent, then we have a day for you.

Single Parents’ Day takes place each year on March 21. Simply put, it’s a day set aside to honor and applaud the hard work single parents do each and every day in raising their children.

According to Mary Anne Britton, the international vice president of membership for Parents Without Partners, Single Parents’ Day is a day for “honoring the single parent who is basically doing double duty” and “giving them some respect.”

The idea for Single Parents’ Day began back in 1984 with an article written by Janice Moglen, a single mother of two who hoped that Single Parents’ Day might one day gain the recognition many associate with both Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. In collaboration with the organization Parents Without Partners, Moglen began to petition individual states to declare their own recognition of Single Parents’ Day.

It is believed that the day, March 21, was chosen to coincide with the inception of Parents Without Partners, which began 50 years ago, on March 21, 1957.

How is that?

I especially want to send a special shout-out to all our military men who are not able to be here this Father’s Day. Whether you are overseas or stateside at a base, we want you to know that we are thinking of you on this day, and we want to say thank you. May you be home soon with your loved ones and the young ones you left behind.

This day cannot be easy, either, for those who have lost a father, especially recently. I can relate to that. Though words appear to be meaningless at this time, all we can do is appreciate the time we had with our dads.

Call it sentimental, but now is a good time to pick up that phone, drop a text or send an e-mail to that special person who has done so much for you in this role of dad or father, and say thank you.

Cherish the moments.

Until next week ...

Happy Father’s Day, mom!!

Happy Father’s Day, Al!

Tripp — out!

Richard Tripp is a longtime local educator — and father — who writes sports stories for the Optic.