Sunday, June 20, 2010

Happy Father's Day

On this Father’s Day (the most sacred holiday of the year) I’d like to wish a happy one to my dad, who also happens to be my hero, mentor, and best friend. I love you, dad. I'm spending this Father's Day at Fenway Park with my son. How cool is that?

Here are some pithy Father’s Day quotes:

“To be a successful father… there’s one absolute rule: when you have a kid, don’t look at it for the first two years.” -- Ernest Hemingway

“A man knows when he is growing old because he begins to look like his father.” -- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.” -- Bill Cosby

“It is a wise father that knows his own child.” -- William Shakespeare (especially if the mother is Anna Nicole)

"When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." – Mark Twain

“By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.” -- Charles Wadsworth

And finally, a salute to Screaming Jay Hawkins. Screaming Jay was a r&b/blues singer. His big hit was “I Put a Spell on You” in which he came out of a coffin. The man was a crowd pleaser. And also a lady pleaser it seems. Upon his death when it was time to divvy up the estate it was discovered he had 57 children. Screaming Jay will not be saluted on Planned Parenthood day.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. Note to wives and daughters: Dad wants tickets to the ballgame today, not a lovely brunch.

10 comments :

Hal Tepfer said...

Ken - just wondering if you were able to squeeze in the Carole King / James Taylor concert last night here in Boston. I didn't hear of any bus breakdowns near the Garden, so I wasn't sure...

Gary said...

Turns out Screamin' Jay was really Shawn Kemp. If we could have, we'd put a spell on Jay, and a double-walled condom, to be sure.

Been to Hannibal, MO several times, always stopped in hopes some of Mark Twain's genius would seep into my soul. If it did, it never reached my brain.

Happy Day to all, and let's play two, except here in Seattle, where we can barely watch one these days.

Laurie Powers said...

Happy Father's Day, Ken.

Original NY'er said...

Ken,

Big fan of the blog. BIGGER fan of Cheers and think it was a shame the dvds didn't feature more features and commentaries by the writers. So just a few questions from someone obsessed with the show to someone who worked on it.

Cheers took place during the infamous Bill Buckner play in the 86' World Series. Any reason it was never joked about on the show? Seems like a no-brainer to mention for so many characters being sox fans.

Do you have a favorite Cheers season as a whole? One you think is the strongest from the first to last episode?

In your opinion as a writer didn't the show get astronomically funnier with Woody and Rebeca compared to Coach and Diane?

Last, If could you rank your favorite side character between Henri, John A hill, Gary, Kelly, Phil and Paul who takes home the top spot?

Thanks and keep up the great work.

dodz said...

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Tim W. said...

I once asked my father, who I felt did a great job of raising me (obviously), what his thoughts on parenting were. He told me he had one goal as a parent. Don't f$ck up your kids. Everything else is just gravy.

Brian Phillips said...

Two fun facts!

1. Screamin' Jay Hawkins most famous song started out as a ballad, but the song changed as the alcohol flowed.

2. He did indeed come out of a coffin, had a skull named "George", however, he was claustrophobic.

Happy Father's Day!

gih said...

Yes! I am one of the fathers at last. :-)

Brian Fies said...

I think this is true: "Your children are either the center of your life or they're not, and the rest is commentary." Calvin Trillin

By Ken Levine said...

Yes, and Canadian immigration hassled Rick Monday for years.