My Son Charlie graduates from high school today. Charlie was home schooled from birth to fifth grade. He was the 2nd born in our family. When he was born my wife was already "playing" school with our 2 year old and Big Dude (one of a multitude of nick names we saddled the poor kid with over the years) was incorporated into their home school routine right along. He went to public school in 6th grade, we were fortunate to home school him again for 7th grade and did his last 5 years of school in public school.
Cubist
Charlie excelled in high school and we are very proud of his accomplishments. But this is my blog not his, so let's talk about me.
I have had many roles in Charlie's life. I was the principal of our home school. I stayed at home when he was in first to fifth grade and was his main teacher. I helped him learn to read. I taught him how to ride a bike. I've been his coach, his youth group leader for 6 years. We have gone on two mission trips together and he has even been my co-worker at a local movie theatre.
Athlete
Historian
Cannon Fodder
Our relationship has changed quite a bit over the years. I've gone from his hero to the embarrassing guy with the bad puns. This year has been a transition year as he prepares for whatever the next chapter of his life is going to be and I get use to the notion that he will be penning these chapters almost entirely on his own. I've been trying to step back from a leadership role in his life to an advisory one. Something I've been getting a little better at lately, mainly because I was doing it so very badly to begin with.
Roller
Before I end this post with some uncaptioned glimpses from over the years, I will share a hopeful anecdote. Over the past few years Charlie has taken up walking, running and cycling: 3 activities I've really enjoyed in my life. Last Sunday, he went cycling with a friend from the youth group and they dropped by the house on a way to a local park to toss a frisbee around. Frisbee is another thing I really enjoy, I walked out to the front yard to say hi and bye when Charlie invited me to come and play frisbee with them. I'm crying even now as I recall how overwhelmed I was by the invitation. I went and I had a great time and I think they did as well. I hope this is just one of many activities that Charlie and I will enjoy together in the years to come. Not only as father and son but as adults, and as friends.
In researching a piece for another one of my blogs I came upon this gem of a dialogue between Billy Graham and Woody Allen.
A little background, Woody Allen was for a long time one of my favorite playwrights, actors, writers and directors. I love his intellectual yet self depreacating humor. I still think that Crimes and Misdemeanors is a modern masterpiece telling the story of the power of sin and the need for redemption.
Billy Graham became a hero of mine as my Christian faith emerged and grew. His love for otChrist, his family and others has had adeep impact on my life and ministry.
When I was in college I got this crazy idea of hosting a talk show. It was the late eighties and David Letterman with his viewr mail, stupid pet tricks and other goofiness was my inspiration. I planned the show to be a hybrid between letterman and a faith based talk show like the 700 club. I imagined that my first gueat would be Billy Graham. On my show I planned to intersperse regular questions with unusual ones. So with Billy, I'd be like tell me about your crusades, then I'd follow it up with Do you fish? How often do you fish? That sort of thing. This interview between Allen and Graham has some of that spirit to it that I would have liked to bring to my own talk show.
I really enjoy the good humor they both bring to this conversation without abandoning their own positions. It's hard to think of the late 60's as a simpler time, however I think as far as public discourse goes this is so much better than the soundbites, barbs and gotchas that predominate these days.
