know I’m leaving a lot of men out of this mix, but the project: remembering that it takes a village to
you’re picking up what I’m putting down, right? raise a child. In my particular case, it took a tribe
of men to raise this idealistic little boy into a man
However, stepping away from Hollywood, with children of his own.
the sobering reality isn’t as clear as those would
have people believe. Fathers are stepping up, a
I’ve done my best to be the best father I can be
lot more than what is being reported or shown in to my son and daughter. There have been ups and
the media. Sure, there are those who might fall downs, head-scratching moments, and there will
short, but that doesn’t mean that all of us can probably still be those moments (I have teenagers,
be lumped into that category. And yes, there are after all. LOL). But those words that my father
those of us who have great relationships with our said to me, my grandfathers, my uncles, I find
fathers, I’m a standing testament to that.
myself saying those same things to my kids; from
the absolute comical to the intensely serious.
I also had uncles, past and present, who helped It’s not always easy being a father, but it’s not
shape me as the man I am today. They taught me supposed to be easy. If fatherhood was easy, it
how to fire a gun (well, my father first put the would be taken for granted. Sadly, that might be
gun in my hand—LOL), how to play basketball the distinction: it’s easy to have kids, but putting
and baseball, how to fish, how to talk to girls, in the work and investing the little lives that have
the list goes on and on. I had two grandfathers, been produced—that’s being a father.
both of whom left an indelible mark on me in
their own unique ways before they passed away.
So, for this Father’s Day, I would tell those
They provided me with the edge that I have children who are now adults who didn’t always
when it comes to my storytelling ability and the have a father around when they were growing
sharp wit that can have me shred you to pieces up: remember “Uncle B”, or “Paw-Paw”, or “Mr.
without uttering a profane word or an insult to Xavier” who was always helping your mother
your character. I was lucky to have those men in with different things around the house when she
my life, and they all played a part in the man you needed help. Sometimes, that tribe of men, that
see now.
circle of testosterone, helped in ways that you
couldn’t see when you were growing up. They
Getting back to that project for my literature might not have been blood-related, but they
class, the other part of what we had to do was might have helped, in their own unique ways, to
read what we’d written in front of the class. I get you from adolescence to adulthood, and were
couldn’t get through the entire thing without rooting for you the whole way.
shedding a few tears, finally realizing the point of