Dear Almost Friday,

With Father’s Day just two weeks away (you’re welcome), why not give a shout out to all the dads out there? They come in all shapes and sizes, with mustaches and goatees and cleanly shaven faces, New Balance Trainers and tucked in T-shirts, Wrangler jeans and Ford Trucks, you get the picture. There is something that happens to man when he becomes a father, not that I have experienced this first hand, but I’ve read a few movies and seen a couple books.

As a boy I was given free reigns to run around, hop fences, build skate ramps and play sports. Dad would teach me about animals and carpentry and how to drive a truck. Anything I wanted to spend my time towards he was all about, he’d be there. Not that Dad ever skated or played baseball growing up, but he loved that I had passion for them. As a child he would catch snakes, collect rocks, earn merit badges, and fix things. Later he would study, pay his way through college, take weekend trips to Mexico for cheap tequila and again, fix things at Ace Hardware. Not to mention meet and marry my mother – the rest is history. All that to be said, I’m incredibly fortunate to have a father who blazed his own path, understands sacrifice, loves me and teaches me daily. I look past that too often.

So here’s to the guys who learned to be men, who strive to do the deeds and spend themselves in a worthy cause, knowing in the end the triumph of high achievement and at the worst fail while daring greatly, as President Teddy Roosevelt would say. It can’t be easy to be a dad (hell I can’t imagine raising me in high school), but to the men who choose to love and serve – this Bud’s for you.

In closing, they don’t call me Dad’s Friend for nothing. Let’s take a look at the Top 3 Dads of the Week.

Cheers,

Dad’s Friend

Name: David Werner

Age: 57

Height: 5’ 10”

Weight: N/A

College: University of Central Oklahoma

Occupation: Vice President of Sales & Marketing

Hobby: Ironing work clothes while watching the Golf Channel

Name: Rudy Carlin

Age: 57

Height: Very tall

Weight: N/A

College: The University of Texas at Austin

Occupation: Director of Recruitment & Employee Development

Hobby: Taking his son’s friends to Pappasito’s for happy hour

Name: David Wall

Age: 56

Height: 5’ 10”

Weight: 185 lbs

College: Texas A&M University

Occupation: Vice President of Quality

Hobby: Wearing boat shoes and a Hawaiian shirt while cleaning the pool to Kenny Chesney Pandora Radio