Fatherhood has treated me well. With two healthy girls and a super wife, I do not have much to complain about. My 2017 Father's Day weekend was a frenetic, food themed extravaganza...
Meat and Potatoes
On Friday evening, our family brigade headed to the Community Arts Center in Westmont. Our 3-month-old stayed with her grandparents, while our family of three arrived on scene, not to eat, but to listen. Meat and Potatoes is a local music trio and the Community Arts Center served them up as the first course in the Coffee House Series. It was a relaxing atmosphere with one surprise to spice up the event.
Lilly, a turtle mascot, greeted the crowd and is expected to make appearances throughout the summer. My 2-year-old reveled in the presence of this reptile. She was unsure of whether it was a real tortoise or a girl trapped inside a turtle. I mistakenly called the mascot a frog. This identification mistake was deemed hilarious by my zoological child. She laughed at my "silly"attempt to meet the animal /girl. After seeing the cotton shell, I felt very silly about my frog talk.
We danced a little with Lilly as Meat and Potatoes combined guitar and banjo. We plan on coming back to the Arts Center later this summer to support more local musicians. Lilly is indeed a turtle and made my daughter's night.
The Leftovers
On Saturday morning, it was a change of pace, from leisure to litter retrieval. Our Mother of Sorrows Service Saturday is a monthly event where my goddaughter and I climb the hills of Stackhouse Park to rescue animal and plant life from the litter lunacy of mankind. I do not know why so many people throw objects (glass, plastic, metal ) into a park. One man's forest-tossed trash is another man's and 9-year-old's service mission.
Especially along the hillside that connects Brownstown to Westmont, there is a smorgasbord of garbage. There was a smorgasbord. My goddaughter is a mountaineer when it comes to OMOS Service Saturday. She talks almost nonstop while she climbs and carves her way through the park. She enjoys getting to the hidden bottle and soda can stuck in the stream. I enjoy our can-to-can communication that never comes close to a complaint.
It is sweaty, stinky service.
And we love it.
If you choose to litter, know we will be out there; scaling Stackhouse, seizing the day and what should never end up in the wilderness.
Thanksgiving
Almost every Sunday, my wife and I spend time at Mill House Cafe with friends and people of faith. Cafe Sundays have become a part of our faith journey. The second verse of the Father's Day Psalm read, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving". In my fatherly balance of life, finding gratitude is critical. I am so lucky to celebrate Sundays in the community I call home.
It would be foolish to overlook the coffee part of this spiritual equation. Fatherhood has without a doubt increased my coffee intake. I would have never entered the gates of Mill House if it were not for the desire for coffee. Thank you, coffee.
Do I connect a resurgence in my Christianity to coffee? Yes.
Have I ever thrown a coffee cup into Stackhouse Park? No.
Free Donuts
The Roxbury Bandshell is a strange looking "house of rock". From the street, it is hard to tell what it is. Kind of like Lilly. I thought she was a frog, but once I got close, I realized she was a turtle. Well, once you get close to the Bandshell, you realize it is a sweet place to play music. Since I do not have musical talent, listening to music works for me.
Free Donuts was the band on stage Father's Day evening. The 2017 AMERISERV concert series at the Bandshell is a great place to see local acts on a historic stage. Our Sons Restaurant is catering the concert series and my 2-year-old and I took advantage of their presence. We bought one of their monstrous $1.00 pickles. There is nothing like sharing a pickle with your 2-year-old, rolling around in the grass, listening to a band called Free Donuts.
That is fatherhood, folks.
And that is all.
Johnstown has a lot to offer this summer. You can support local in so many ways.
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