Father's Day Thoughts

In "Big Russ," my competitor Tim Russert's fine book about his dad, he says hardly a day goes by that he doesn't remember something his dad taught him. It made me think of my dad. He didn't say much. He just worked hard so we could have some of the things he couldn't have, but the greatest gift that he and my mother gave us was the example they set, their values.

My dad left most of the talking to our mother. She was the lawgiver in our lives and her rules were simple and certain. You have to work for what you get. Malingering is not an option.

"You've been sick for two days," she once told me. "It's time to get up and go to school." Her main rule? Don't embarrass the family. She believed punctuality was key to all things, "Better to be too early to the airport than too late." Showing you're proud of who you are meant a smile on your face and a shine on your shoes. And, oh, how she hated liars, which for us translated into, "If you lie to me, I'll whip you till you can't sit down," to which my dad would add, "Pay attention to your mother. You know how she is." We did and we did.

And by the way, if all this reminded you you forgot a Father's Day gift, get Tim's book. My mother would have loved it. She might even have written a blurb for it.

By Bob Schieffer