And now, a word or two about Dad — and our Team Tucker dads

WE’RE HAPPY to note today that the team here at Tucker Paving, Inc., includes lots of dads, “expectant” dads, would-be dads, wanna-be dads, and granddads, too. With Father’s Day coming up Sunday (June 18) — and knowing that the observance gets only a sliver of the attention that Mother’s Day gets — we wanted to make sure to wish all of our dads a happy day ahead and to let them know how much we appreciate them.

America needs its dads — good, decent, honest, reliable, responsible, and hard-working dads. Society is built on families and is stronger when its families are strong and whole with dad around, committed to family — “all in” with love and support for his wife and children.

What can we say about Dad? Well, how about we list some of the great things others — some of them dads themselves — have said to him, for him, and about him through the years? We really like these comments and quotes:

• “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me.” — Jim Valvano

• “To the world you are a dad. To our family you are the world.” — Unknown

• “The just [man] walketh in his integrity: his children [are] blessed after him.” — Proverbs 20:7

• “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” — Pam Brown

• “Anyone who tells you fatherhood is the greatest thing that can happen to you, they are understating it.” — Mike Myers

• “Old as she was, she still missed her daddy sometimes.” — Gloria Naylor

• “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” — Tim Russert

• “One father is more than a hundred schoolmasters.” — George Herbert

• “My father used to say that it’s never too late to do anything you wanted to do. And he said, ‘You never know what you can accomplish until you try.’ ” — Michael Jordan

• “When I come home, my daughter will run to the door and give me a big hug, and everything that’s happened that day just melts away.” — Hugh Jackman

• “It is easier for a father to have children than for children to have a real father.” — Pope John XXIII

• “I was always going to church with my mom, dad and sister. I was literally raised under the godly influence both at home and church. There was no alcohol and no smoking at our house. That was the way a Bowden was supposed to live. My dad always told me to represent the Bowden name in a respectful manner.” — Bobby Bowden

• “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” — Ruth E. Renkel

• “My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” — Clarence Budington Kelland

• “My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all — the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would be, and much less about what we would do.” — Mitt Romney

• “My dad used to sit me on his knee and read from the Bible to us. We were a praying family. Ours was a family of love and a family of prayer.” — Roma Downey

• “And my dad drilled it in my head, you know, ‘If you want it bad enough, and you’re willing to make the sacrifices, you can do it. But first you have to believe in yourself.’ ” — Jennie Finch

• “One of the greatest titles in the world is parent, and one of the biggest blessings in the world, is to have parents to call mom and dad.” — Jim DeMint

• “My dad always told me, ‘I don’t care what you do. Just aim to be the best at it. Even if it’s the world’s best window cleaner.’ ” — Bruce Dickinson

• “When I was a kid, I used to imagine animals running under my bed. I told my dad, and he solved the problem quickly. He cut the legs off the bed.” — Lou Brock

• “Being a father to my family and a husband is to me much more important than what I did in the business.” — Tom Bosley

• “My dad raised me with some good advice: ‘Always tell the truth. Always shoot from the hip. You might not have many friends, but you’ll never have enemies, because people will always know where you’re coming from.’ ” — Pink

• “I’m a dad, and I can tell you it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.” — Aaron Johnson

• “The greatest thing a father can do to his children, is to love their mother.” — Anjaneth Garcia Untalan

• “A father is someone who carries pictures in his wallet where his money used to be.” — Unknown

• “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.” — Sigmund Freud

• “A father is neither an anchor to hold us back nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.” — Unknown

• “It’s only when you grow up and step back from him — or leave him for your own home — it’s only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it.” — Margaret Truman

• “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” — Proverbs 22:6

• “Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad.” — Anne Geddes

• “Dad. Ask him when Mom says ‘No.’ ” — Unknown

• “Because of my father, we are that Shining City on a Hill.” — Michael Reagan

Again, to all of our dads on Team Tucker, we thank you, we love you, and we wish each of you the best Father’s Day ever this coming Sunday!