“Listen, my sons, to a father's instruction: pay attention and gain understanding.” Proverbs 4:7 (NIV)
Have you ever noticed how your view of your father’s intelligence varies with YOUR age? In my case, it seemed to run from he is a genius, to the old man is as dumb as a box of rocks, then work through various stages until the final assessment has came back to the old man really is a PhD. Somehow, Pop really did know everything, didn’t he... boy, I sure wish I had figured that out fifteen years ago!
The general stages may be loosely defined as: the childhood age, where you think your father knows the answer to ever single question in the known universe. This is followed by the teenage years, AKA “stop lecturing me”. As the mid twenties age approaches, your view softens somewhat, allowing for the theoretical belief that perhaps he was right once or twice. Well, I am forty years old now, and it appears he may have been one of the smartest men to ever walk on the face of the earth. I have a twelve year old son. I wonder how much longer it will take before I become as smart as a slug in his eyes?
This article is dedicated to my father, Charles Davis, whose sage advice and wisdom were generally ignored by me as I grew up.
Copyright 2007 Timothy E. Davis