Father's Day is celebrated in many countries around the world on different days of the year. As everybody in Thailand knows, Father's Day here is celebrated to coincide with the birthday of His Majesty the King on December 5.
In Exercises this week on pages 18-19 you can read about the special Bike for Dad event being organised to celebrate this very special occasion. Also in keeping with the Father's Day theme, we have a special story in our Entertainment section about popular songs dedicated to dad by superstars like Beyonce and Will Smith, as well as by local entertainers like Stamp.
Stamp's song is about how his father left home a long time ago and hasn't been seen since by the family. I can kind of relate to that, since my parents split up when I was a teenager and I haven't seen much of my father since then. I don't think this is a particularly uncommon occurrence these days.
However, I'm luck to have very happy memories of my dad from when I was a child. One of the main things I remember was that he was a great carpenter, although that wasn't how he earned his living. As a kid I used to love hanging out in our run-down old family garage / workshop, playing around in the wood shavings as my old man sawed, hammered, shaved and sanded wood until, miraculously, we had a beautiful new home-made bed, bookshelf, table or cabinet.
The house we moved into when I was a toddler was very old and quite small, so my father (with some help from my brothers and me) did quite a bit of building and renovating around the house. I think those experiences helped me grow up to like the idea of being as self-sufficient as possible and with an appreciation for a "do it yourself" way of doing things.
I've never been a parent, but it's obviously hard work. I think most mothers and fathers do their best, often against tough odds, to bring up their kids as best they can. I feel lucky to have grown up with parents that set a positive example of good ways to live.
So to all the hard-working dads everywhere, happy Father's Day for December 5!
Ben Edwards
Editor
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