Father's Day Reflections: Kent Shocknek of CBS2

Millions of other dads were just like my Dad: part of that Greatest Generation, who came home from war, put down the Navy manual, and picked up a briefcase (or shovel).

Dad didn't talk much about his time in the service; but he'd let my older brothers and me look through his scrapbook. After his death, we pieced together some parts of what he did, and came to the exciting realization he did some kind of Naval Intelligence work. No wonder he liked James Bond movies. Bond was in the same field, before he joined the Secret Service. Of course, Dad wouldn't have dreamed of going to a 007 movie with one of us. Too much sex(!).

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But his disapproval fueled my own fascination with the films. He died when I was a senior in college. Not after some globe-hopping adventure; but just sitting in the same red leather chair he'd fall into after a long day of selling insurance policies.

Selfishly, I wish we could have seen a Bond movie together. I wish he could have seen how he shaped me through his actions, even more than his words (which were few). That he'll never know, still makes me sad. That there are millions of other dads just like my Dad makes me glad.