The dark and bright side of Father’s Day was present in my life today. On the dark side we attended the last liturgy at our Catholic church on the north side. A Catholic Church had been on this site for 114 years but fell victim today, as so many other Catholic Churches have in this area, to a neglect of the Catholic Church to serve the poor, particularly African Americans that have moved in the neighborhood. 15 or more Catholic Churches on the north side have been reduced to now two Churches created as African American Churches. The city of Milwaukee and the Catholic Church of Milwaukee have a long history of segregation of African Americans and it goes on and on. Where are the leaders of the Catholic Church in Milwaukee when it comes to equality? One of the Churches my wife and I are considering joining is a Church that originally was created downtown to be an African American Church where the nearby Catholic Church segregated blacks. The Church is now mostly white.
Also on the dark side today, Father’s day, were the memories of my son who had killed himself less than a year ago. I was his father and, as he stated before he died, his best friend. Today I thought and felt like I would finally cry over his death but did not.
On the bright side of this Father’s Day was hearing from three of my African friends, who call me, out of respect, Uncle Bob. I am proud of all three of them and what they have accomplished since they came from war torn Sierra Leone over 10 years ago.
Also on the bright side was working in my gardens and actually harvesting some mint and grape leaves, two important ingredients for Middle Eastern cooking. Both of these ingredients are sustainable foods. They come up year after year and the more you pick them, the more they grow. Now I just need to clean both, dry the mint and freeze the grape leaves.
My wife took me out to a Middle Easter buffet after we dropped some friends off that we had driven to Church for the last liturgy. I ate too much good food and did not feel good the rest of the day. When will I learn that even Father’s Day needs to be taken in moderation, the dark and bright sides?
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