A Salute to Fathers
When I was growing up my late father, Edward Johnson, was deeply proud of me, my two sisters and my brother. He encouraged us to excel in school, to read books, to attend church and to prepare for our futures. He was always there for us, during times of great joy and sadness.
Like my father, most fathers want the very best for their children. They want them to have a better quality of life than they experienced, and they do all that they can to ensure that their children begin life with a solid foundation.
Fathers have always worked very hard to provide their families with the basic necessities of life. Often, some have worked more than one job to pay the bills, and to purchase those items that their children said that they had to have. Fathers have been anchors in the lives of their children.
Once each year in this country we take time to say a very special “thank you” to our fathers if they are still living, and to remember those who are no longer with us. Ties, socks, wallets, suits, shoes and other items are purchased and given as gifts. Special messages of appreciation and reflection are written inside of Father’s Day cards.
Being a father is very special, and the day to salute all of those who have stood tall and strong is celebrated this year on June 21st. The first Father’s Day was held on June 19th in 1910. It came two years after the first Mother’s Day celebration.
In 1966, former President Lyndon Baines Johnson issued a presidential proclamation that officially designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Six years later, former President Richard M. Nixon signed legislation acknowledging Father’s Day as an official United States holiday.
I would like to salute every father in the 30th Congressional District, and fathers everywhere who have nurtured and guided their children through good times and bad. I applaud them for loving their children, for protecting them and for insisting that they pursue excellence as students and greatness as human beings.
I salute all fathers for the sacrifices that they have made, for the encouragement that they have given, for the prayers that they have uttered and for the examples that they have set. All that they have done has been helpful to their children, and for that their children will remain eternally grateful. Have a blessed Father’s Day.
