A Father's Day Story. . .

Last Thursday night, my workplace was having me attend one of those big, snooty, fundraising banquet-with-networking-and-grilled-chicken-nightmare events.

I really don't mind attending them as long as for they're a good cause.
This one definitely was.

It was a fundraiser for an incredibly effective and active agency that has been on the forefront of serving individuals with disabilities for a very long time.


. . .And I was there "networking" with a group of people, all of whom were extremely diverse, when one of them said, "I'd like you to meet Anne Roosevelt."

I was trying to be my extrovert, 'networking' self, when I almost caught myself saying, 'So! Are you, like, any relation to FDR and Eleanor?' - - - but I suddenly caught myself - - when I instantly recognized the face of Eleanor Roosevelt looking back at me. . .

(EEEEEEERRAAAKKK! . . .
. . sound of Politically Correct brakes screeching on asphalt)

I was, indeed, being introduced to Anne Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt's granddaughter, who is an activist for individuals with disabilities and was the evening's keynote speaker.

Anne Roosevelt bears an incredible likeness to her grandmother, Eleanor.
Here's a lovely photo of her with a granddaughter.

Isn't the resemblance incredible?

She gave an astounding speech about the fact that her grandfather's disability enabled him to identify with those less fortunate and that it roused his psyche to greater heights; that his presidency wouldn't have been what it was had not it been for his disability.

It brought tears to my eyes.

It was hell trying to get a taxi home from the event.

After managing to fight my way through the crowd, I was able to leap into a taxi and phone my dad, a staunch Republican, in Texas afterwards. . . .

Here's the conversation. . . .

"Hey, Dad! Guess who I shook hands with tonight? A big Democrat. . . "

"I don't know, son. . . Barak?. . ."

"No, . . .better. . "

"Son, don't tell me it was Hillary. . ."

"No!!!.

. . . Dad, it was Eleanor's granddaughter, Anne Roosevelt!"

My dad gave a hearty laugh and proceeded to tell my about the time HE met Eleanor Roosevelt. . .

It was 1957 and Eleanor Roosevelt was visiting the campus of Texas Tech College in Lubbock Texas and my dad's fraternity was hosting the event.

My dad was an 18-year old sophomore and was delegated to "stand guard" at the restroom in the fraternity house where the First Lady would be visiting.

Mrs. Roosevelt asked my dad where she could visit the facilities, he directed her to the bathroom and stood guard. . . .

After Mrs. Roosevelt finished in the bathroom, apparently, my dad immediately thought it would be fun to plop his same backside upon the same commode as did Mrs. Roosevelt so as to say that he could have always have claimed to have . . . . '. well, you guess it. . . . '

. . . Needless to say, my dad and I had a wonderful laugh.

I thought I was going to call Dad to have a jab about my impressive contacts with Democratic political officials. . ..

My dad, in return, surprised me about his contact with that same political official's grandmother on the toilet,

Anne Roosevelt and I shook hands,

But, apparently, my daddy and her grandma shared a toilet seat!

I'll always love the fact that my dad gave me the ability to appreciate the humor in each other's lives.

Happy Father's Day,

I love you lots, Dad.