The Days of Mothers and Fathers Part One

Written By: Steven Fillmore

Mother, I’d wager that before any of us complain too much about the parents God provided us, as well as some of the scenarios we were involved in along with them years ago, we might do well to be thankful that at least we had a mother and father who tried as the old cliché states “to teach us right from wrong,” although many of us perhaps didn’t see it that way at that time. And of course we didn’t know then that many of humankind’s children grow to adulthood with unfit parents, or live with people who aren’t their real parents, or perhaps know neither of them.
But thankfully very few of us who had difficulty living under either rightful or wrongful parental guidance or control saw fit to shotgun murder those who’d given us life, yet of course some people told us that even such acts should be forgiven by human courts after a number of years had passed. Still, I personally had a problem with such a deduction, thus I asked a friend whose opinion I value somewhat (less now!) what his “take” on the subject of the murder of parents was, and he replied regrettably I thought “Don’t be fooled by those who keep their noses so far up in the air that they can barely see past them. Remember that hopefully, like us, they’re also only using paper to clean their butts after having relieved themselves. And, if you think that premise is rather stupid or unconnected to your particular question, remember that nowadays many people are paying large amounts of money to watch grown men push the arse of one of their teammates in the hope that thereby he’ll be able to maneuver the ball he’s carrying beyond a certain point.”
Well, as you may surmise, I took little comfort, and no real assumed gain of knowledge from that retort, but it did lead me to once again ponder how we as humans are, like all other living and inanimate beings and things, subservient to Master Time. And time only grows older in the sense that one more year is added to its numerical total after each twelve months; other than that it’s as young today as when it ever and however began, yet it is undeniably one of the most important unseen factors in the lives of all mortals, surpassed only perhaps by one’s religious beliefs.
And as time passes, a point is reached of course at which parents begin to play a diminished role in the lives of their offspring. And hopefully at that point the parents can look back with pride upon what their children became – but that doesn’t always happen. And in my personal case, I should admit that I was perhaps somewhat arrogant in those younger years. But as is the case in all mortal lives, I grew older. And then, on one particular day of reflection, I realized that although I’d never succumbed to a life of crime or addiction, I was finding myself drawn toward what surely is the strangest sort of “magnet” at work anywhere today. I was being drawn toward “the city” which existed only a short distance from my current home. And, in time, I became a resident of that city. And if there is one thing I know for certain now, it’s that I’ll remain a resident of “the city” until my dying day!
And thus, perhaps you can now see that my resolve is strong. And, my beliefs are solidified. So, I’ll now tell you that with what of course are a few obvious exceptions, today I’m very skeptical of anyone who tries to tell me that “Yes, I unequivocally know the how, why, and when that certain events happened; and, I also know why certain words, whether capable of being positively, negatively or ambivalently construed were ever spoken or written.”
And I’ve also been told that only fools enter life’s highways with no goals in mind. Only mishaps befall such travelers. And, with the concepts I’ve just enunciated in mind, today, on one of these days that exist between the days on which we honor our parents individually, I find I must admit that I, hardly a St. Stephen (or rather St. Steven) am journeying out to accomplish my regular daily routines which exist (for me) within the familiar boundaries of what I consider to be my unsurprising existence.
But I’m free today. That is, I’m as free today as the limitations which both rightly and wrongly allow me to be. Yet, today I don’t need to stand in awe of great achievers, no matter whatever field of achievement they may be excelling within. I know that down the road, someday, both they and their accomplishments will fade from societal importance; yet of course the memories of some of their deeds may, in future days find inclusion within great, and not so great books; but then again, such books aren’t very popular nowadays, they don’t tell us how the single twenty-something waitress landed the also twenty-something, or in some cases thirty-something billionaire.
And while, as I said, I need not grant great respect to great achievers, I also need not extend my sorrowful apologies to those who’ve been unfortunate in life’s money chase, or to those who possess a mindset which tells them that for some reason or reasons the world as a whole, or at least the nations which border their own owe them an at least tolerable existence. No one will fool me with that sort of phony altruism. Instead, I’ll continue to state what for me are simple truths. And, I’ll carry on now. And, my words are heartfelt. Yet, although they speak of the scenario in which parents nurture their offspring, so do they also acknowledge what all forms of communication ultimately must, i.e. time passes, and all earthly beings and situations fade away eventually.
So, here’s to those who continue human generations. But such continuance has generated many questions, several of which have surfaced in the last one hundred or so years. Should people marry? Should people of the same sex marry? Are there really more than two sexes? Should each child ideally have two parents, one male and one female? Is it a negative influence upon a child should he or she be raised by one parent only, or by grandparents, or indeed by people not even related to him or her? And, what about the amount of humans living upon Planet Earth? Is it too great? It’s already been fifty some years since a famous book warned the inhabitants of the earthly planet about the repercussions of supposed over-population. And of course today many methods, as well as plagues, starvation and simple every day occurrences keep populations in check somewhat.
But just now I feel like a man just now awakened from a sleep associated with all the problems known to concern human life upon Planet Earth. Oh, allow me a certain “distantness” now! Allow me to both ask, and simultaneously attempt to discover answers to the most basic, but yet no doubt most pertinent human questions. But you may wonder if indeed my last petition to you and father might concern matters otherworldly as well as only earthly. I’ll address that in father’s Part Two of this discussion.