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6-16-2002 - 9:10 p.m.
Dads Happy Father's Day to my father and to my children's other father, Ram�n. They both taught me that a Dad is so much more than a sperm donor. My dad is great or rather he was great. He has Alzheimer's disease so he's still himself, but he's not. It's complicated and painful. I always think of him as a big, lusty guy with a lot of passion for life and it's adventures. There were other lessons too, like a man accepts responsibility, for his actions, for his family and for his planet and it's people. A struggling teenaged queer couldn't have had a more supportive father. So thanks Dad, I hear your words coming out of my mouth everyday. And then there is Ram�n. He was raised without a father, without a mother, for that matter, but that's another story. He has no biological children of his own, but Ray is a father and protector of every child he meets. 2 brief stories: My ex-wife and I split up and she gets custody of my 3 year old daughter. Miss B has ADHD and is quite a handful to this very day! The ex takes the baby to live with her God-fearing relatives in small town Texas who believe that the way to deal with a high-spirited child is to 'beat the devil right out of 'em'. The child's dad is off being an irresponsible twat, dancing and tricking every night and getting no nominations for Father-of-the Year. Wait, didn't I said I would be brief? Ok, Justin meets Ray. Instead of being nauseated by the idea of Justin having a child, Ray is supportive. Ray goes on trips to the zoo and Sesame Street Live' When her paternal grandfather breaks the baby's arm, it's Ray who saddles up the white horse and goes to rescue the princess...and hires the lawyers and bribes the social worker until baby makes three. So now when smartass Miss B says to Ray 'You can't tell me what to do! You aren't my father!' he just rolls his eyes and says 'Of course, I am.' And then there was that time Ray went to Honduras with the Red Cross during Hurricane Mitch and ended up bringing an 18 month old baby girl home. As the story goes, Ray was called in to examine this wheezing baby who had almost drowned. The baby reached up, wrapped her arms around Ray's neck and refused to let go. I know just how she feels!
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