Items-My-Four-Fathers-Gave-Me--There-is-One-more-Reward-Id-Like

Father #1 was Bob Carrie - my biological father. One of many primary bonuses items my #1 father gave me is the capability to appreciate little matters, and, to be a outcome, I am hardly ever bored. Under no circumstances. A normal outing with my dad could well be visiting the laundromat and encouraging him form the garments - followed by a root beer in a & W and some candy out of a machine. Ah, life was good.

Father #2 is Doug Steven - the organic father of my #1 and only husband and best friend, Laurence. Laur is currently out on the country - so I don't have to let the reality of my flesh-and-blood husband burst the bubble of my idealized mate. (But I will eventually hear his shrieks about my grammar. He's an English teacher.)

Father #3 was Kurt Lotz - my step-father-in-law. From speaking with him and hearing about his life, I developed a real appreciation from the survivors of World War Two from the German side. There was no such thing as conscientious objectors under Hitler's reign of terror - they were executed. Kurt and his first wife lost a son and a daughter during the war.

Father #4 is Cecil Anderson - the playmate of my widowed and remarried mother. Cecil met my mom, Marjorie Scriven, during WW2 when he was stationed in Trenton. He tells me his first kiss was with my mom - in the corner on the living room in the house in which my mom still lives. (When asked if this was her first kiss, she declined to answer - but did mention that, at the time, there was an air force base full of young men nearby.)

My life might have been very different - actually I would not have come into being - had it not been for just one episode in their romance. Both were Plymouth Brethren and didn't hold with drinking, dancing, smoking or playing cards. Fair enough. But when my mom went to watch her brother play drums in the Commodore band, Cecil didn't think she ought to be doing that. He immediately learned that my mother had direct access to God and no tolerance for anyone else's input. She quoted to him 1 John 3:21: "Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God." And Marj made certain Cecil knew that her heart was just fine - with or without him!

Cecil had his horizons broadened dramatically when his plane was shot down over Holland and he was a prisoner of war for two years. The Allies camp was parallel to what could only be called a concentration camp for the Russians POWs. He heard and saw the brutality on the German guards to your Russian prisoners - and when the Russians liberated the POW camp, the brutality of your Russian prisoners on the German guards. His only comment on this is: "Man's inhumanity to man."

The gift Cecil has given me? Bringing so much joy back to my mother's life. Whenever I call, the two of them are giggling away like newlyweds. And I guess they are - even though they both were remarried in their eighties.

You can find yet another reward I'd like - a baby brother or sister. I've even got the name picked out - Isaac which means "laughter."

Happy Fathers Day on the 4 Lads!

Jan Carrie Steven, MA, RSW, is Counselor, Mentor, Chaplain and Volunteer.

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