This episode is dedicated to my father, John Butler, the greatest dad in the world. If you haven’t already guessed, the theme of this episode is fathers. This means, the books, films, music, and TV shows that are about dads.
How to Listen:
Papa’s Not a Rolling Stone
Before he retired, my father was a librarian for the City of New York and later a law librarian for the Queens Supreme Court; also in New York. I inherited my love of books and literature from my father. Summer vacations, sick days and occasional Sundays, I spent hours and hours reading everything I could get my hands on. In years before computers, I got to spend time with my good friends the card catalogue and the Dewey Decimal system. If you don’t know what either of those things are, look them up on Google. My father is an ordained Deacon at Bethany Baptist Church and a lifetime member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated. He is a well known figure within the community and has always given his time freely.
Am I Coming in Clear
Frequency is film released in the 2000, starring, Dennis Quaid, Jim Caviezel, and Elizabeth Mitchell. In Frequency, an accidental cross-time radio link connects a father and son across 30 years. The son, tries to save his father’s life, but then must fix the consequences. On the surface, Frequency is a time travel story, but in reality it is a drama and mystery, that hinges on the relationship between a father and a son. Jim Caviezel is a police detective whose father, Dennis Quaid a fire fighter, died in a building fire 30 years earlier. The movie asks the question, what would you do if you could talk to someone from the past, and prevent them from a tragic death? I saw this unexpected gem in the movie theaters and currently have it in my DVD collection. Even though there is a huge mystery, the suspense and drama of the film hold up to multiple viewings. If you are a fan of Quaid or Caviezel, I highly recommend it.
Daddy’s Home
Frasier is an NBC television show that aired from 1993-2004, starring Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, and John Mahoney. As the title character, Kelsey Grammer reprises the role he played for years on Cheers. On the show, after a contentious divorce, Frasier leaves Boston and returns to Seattle, Washington to host a radio show and take in his father, a widower and cop that was that forced into retirement due to an injury. Although this is primarily a comedy, the main theme of the show is the relationship between a tough, authoritarian father, and his refined, aristocratic son. It is a classic comedy of manners. Since the show stopped producing new episodes, it has been a mainstay on syndicated reruns and now streaming services. Any child or parent can find humor in this show whether you are two peas in a pod or as different as night and day.
Grandfathers are Fathers Too
The Princess Bride, S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: The ‘good parts’ version Abridged by William Goldman is a 1973 fantasy novel that, according to Wikipedia, is a book that combines the elements of comedy, adventure, fantasy, romantic love, romance and fairy tale. This fantastic book within a book within a fairytale is according to Goldman
Family Matters
A special shoutout to my cousins (either through blood or marriage) that are great fathers in every way they can be. We don’t always get everything right, but we never stop trying.
Kudos to:
James Edwards
Geoff Springer
Jerry Springer
Jermaine Davis
Doug Fouser
Duane Ford
Craig Barnave
Brian Barnave &
Sam Lilly
In Closing
Since I recorded this show so late in the month, I didn’t get a chance to with my big sister Johnda a happy birthday on the show. Well here it is, happy birthday Johnda. For most people, our siblings are our first friends because they are the first kids you meet. Well I can honestly say that my sister is my oldest and dearest friend. There has never been a time that we were not close. We live in different states so we don’t get to see each other often and we don’t speak every day, but we always pick up as if we had just spoken the day before.