Feel-Good Friday: A Salute to a Firefighting Hero and All the Hero Fathers

Happy Father’s Day weekend to all the dads out there! That includes those who may not have had children of their own but who were father figures to the young men and women in their lives, whether that be as a mentor, a coach, a relative, or a friend. I relate to Sen. Tim Scott’s story. Sen. Scott’s mother divorced his father when Scott was just seven years old, and he was not involved in young Tim’s life. So, his father figures were his grandfather and also a small business owner named John Moniz—a white man. My father was murdered when I was three years old, so I grew up without a father, or any representative facsimile, for the majority of my young life. In my late 20s, a white couple named Glenn and Barbara Kirkpatrick befriended me, and Glenn’s father’s heart toward me was a tremendous blessing during that time; so much so that I chose him to walk me down the aisle at my wedding.Read More