I am afraid it is the old Mark Twain analysis in full swing.

"When I was 18, I was disgusted at how simple and ignorant my father was. When I reached 21, I was amazed at how much my father had learned in 3 years."

I've invested a lot of time and effort into trying to raise two girls into suitable women. The only real successes I had were the times when I could get them out of the house and away from their mother, where I could "rough handle" them a little bit. It was nigh impossible to exert sufficient influence on them while mom was around, for my Samurai voice would usually compel the wife into coming to their defense, lest their sensitive natures get bruised (funny how when it was Mom that decided to "educate" them girls, the fur would tend to fly a little. I reckon what's good for the goose ain't necessarily allowed for the gander in this here day and age). Anyways, hauling their butts up to fishing camp or to hunter ed class, where the wife wasn't so much interested in taggiing along, or if she did, wasn't so quick to give me the stinky eye in front of my peers, set the mood for some great parent teaching opportunities. Now I knew when we got home the tune would change, but while they were in my world, they got to see how everyone earned their share or did without.

Now that my oldest is in college, it is quite the thing to hear her singing a different tune when she comes home. Is that gratitude I hear in her meek and humble requests now? The best part is the 16 year old, who looks up to her big sister quite a bit more than she'd lie to admit, is taking notice of how big sis is treating dear ole dad now. Of course, me going to Baghdad had as much to do with setting an example for them kids as it did anything else. It has also quieted down the wife a little bit too. Sometimes the grown up kids need the most attention. I reckon being a man about my life has helped my wife find her appropriate place in the household as well, and thus my kids are towing the line more, too.

I ain't saying womenfolk are inferior to men. That'd be putting the bad mouth on all the rest of my family, which don't make no sense. Nope, I'm saying that the social history of my 40+ years was a darned good way for my parents group to cop out of all sorts of responsibilities and do whatever they thought felt good to them, and that included trying to rearrange the household so that no one could be counted on to lead, and with no one to follow, everyone was pretty much free to "explore" the possibilities of their own existence, which led to some pretty irresponsible behavior that past generations knew to be inappropriate, without having to go thru it first to find out why. I don't really care who it is that leads the household one way or another, so long as someone steps up to the plate and starts swinging. Only thing is society still more or less looks to the man of the house as the spokesman, even though that now comes with a healthy serving of guilt. That and I ain't seen example one yet of a single mom that could do a decent job raising a kid. I am sure and certain there's some out there, but none that I know. Conversely, if you find a single dad raising young'uns, you can be almost certain those kids know discipline and respect. Trouble is, I know of a lot of single moms, but I have yet to meet a man raising children by himself. I suppose that says something about our society as well. Given the deplorable rate at which single moms seem to be failing in their committments to raise decent, respectable youth, I gotta wonder who's idea was it exactly that said a man was less fit to raise kids than a woman was? I think we were sold a bill of goods on that one folks.

What should a young man know? If he's gonna be worth anything, he'd best know an old man worth his salt. If he doesn't, then he isn't gonna know anything worthwhile for quite a while. My sister in law and my nephew are two fine examples of why that statement is so true. Had it not been for my Grandad, I'd have damn near been another one myself.