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This weekend is Father’s Day in which we celebrate father figures and the important role they play in families. June is also National Fathers Awareness Month, which highlights the importance of fatherhood. But this year something really bugs me. Why have we lost focus on the importance of fathers? I’d suggest we return to honoring fathers as much as we do mothers. Both are important to children, families, and society so let’s build up and respect good dads just as much as we do moms.   OK, I may be more sensitive this year after losing my dad last April and my mother several years ago. Maybe I’m still grieving. But Father’s Day and Mother’s Day is important to me. Not just because I am a parent, but to remember my parents. It’s also a day to honor my in-laws, who continue to show our family what love and marriage

I read an troubling post recently that The Reading Gap between young boys and girls is growing dramatically. The post also quotes the American Psychological Association that American Girls Read and Write Better than American Boys. This growing disparity is alarming and can have long-term impacts on men’s success in various aspects of life. Well, it’s time to shrink the gap by encouraging more boys and men to start reading again. We need more men leading —or at least keeping up with women, rather than falling behind. As Harry Truman once said, “Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.”  Some people believe men are lost and our boys are not all right. Not only are males falling behind in the education system but they lead statistically in the “deaths of despair” from suicide, drug addictions, and alcoholism. Too many males disengage, are uncommunicative, and become passive. They

Today is Memorial Day in the United States, a holiday to honor and mourn those who who laid down their lives while serving in the military. It is also a time to pause to reflect on the freedom we enjoy in America. For most, it is the unofficial beginning of summer with picnics, barbeques, and graduation parties. Some go to the beach or lake house for the long weekend. For others, it is a day of sadness with visits to cemeteries and memorials to loved ones and friends. This morning, I paused at local Veterans Memorial Park to honor those who died during battle. I also remember my father, who passed away last year. Dad was a proud U.S. Marine, who rests in peace, along side many other veterans at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, IL.  This year, celebrating the holiday is a bit more difficult given the