By Wayne Horne

Father’s Day is this Sunday, June 19. It’s really not similar to Mother’s Day. Mothers need a relaxation day. Most holidays the moms work hard. Who else would make all the arrangements and prepare the meals? Most often that’s not what dads do. They watch sports, golf, or do something enjoyable most Sundays, anyway.

Contrary to popular belief, Father’s Day was not invented as just another holiday to buy greeting cards for. According to Hallmark, Father’s Day is the fourth-largest card-sending occasion with 72 million cards given every year. In fact, almost everyone buys a card for someone on Father’s Day, including fathers themselves. Sons and daughters purchase 50 percent of all Father’s Day cards. Almost 20 percent of cards are bought by wives for husbands. The rest of the cards are purchased for grandfathers, sons, brothers, uncles, and “someone special.”

Father’s Day was founded in Spokane, Washington at the YMCA in 1910 by Sonora Smart Dodd, who was born in Arkansas. Its first celebration was in the Spokane YMCA on June 19, 1910. Her father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, was a single parent who raised his six children there. For more than six decades, Father’s Day was seen in some quarters as a peripheral event aimed at beefing up sales. It came into its own on this day in 1972, when President Richard Nixon recognized Father’s Day as an official holiday, to be marked on the third Sunday in June.

Usually accompanying the card is a gift. The cliché gift in the past was a tie. Few men wear ties today. A shirt may work if giving clothing is the desire. Underwear and socks are better at Christmas when nobody focuses on dad.

Here are some more facts about Fatherhood to ponder:

  • 6 out of 10 children are praised nearly three times a day by their father.
  • There are approximately 64.3 million fathers in America.
  • Nearly 14% of fathers are full-time stay-at-home dads, in families where mother’s work outside home.
  • Two-thirds of children under the age of 6 do not eat dinner without their dads.
  • One in twelve men serving in the army are dads
  • Around 38% of the working dads say they would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids

The one gift all dads are sure to appreciate is this: “Thanks, dad. I love you! Happy Fathers’ Day!”

One last thing… A new term is evolving that would seem to be a partial solution to the excessive price of gasoline: micromobility. It describes a growing mode of transportation for short trips in mostly urban areas. It’s the use of electric scooters that until a few years ago were considered to be just kid’s toys. During a recent visit to see my daughter, who lives a few blocks from Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin, we took a day trip to see the sights in Duluth, Minnesota. Duluth’s population is about 86,000 residents without the tourists. It is apparently a popular tourist destination with numerous restaurants and tourist attractions. The streets were crowded that day but it did not deter the use of electric scooters plying the many bicycle lanes in the downtown area and paths along the lake front.

Using such means of travel did not hold the same attraction to me as it did to the under 30 age-group but it did reinforce my fondness for my recently purchased e-bike. The use of battery-operated vehicles has increased exponentially since the beginning of the pandemic. My new e-bike lets me believe I’m getting exercise without the effort it took me on the road bike I’ve ridden for many years. Which leads me to the point of bringing this up.

Joliet does not have a network of bicycle lanes on city streets, not even downtown. Will County has an enviable network of bike trails that effectively allow access to hundred of miles of trails throughout the State of Illinois. Bike lanes allow somewhat safer travel for cyclists by alerting auto drivers to be watchful for bicyclists on the streets. It would also allow for safer travel to reach the multitude of forest preserve trails available for recreational use. Perhaps it’s time for the City of Joliet to take a look at what it has to offer besides passive entertainment. Electric cars are not the only answer for a cleaner environment. Many cities provide extensive networks of bike lanes. Joliet should join the movement, after all it’s just a little paint.

Stay tuned…

Contact Wayne at www.wayneswords@thetimesweekly.com