Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, June 16, 2018

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Mountain View News Saturday, June 16, 2018 

WALKING SIERRA MADRE... The Social Side By Deanne Davis


Walking Sierra Madre……The Social Side

Deanne Davis

“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.”

“Becoming a Father is easy enough...But being one can be 
rough!” 

Wilhelm Busch 1832-1908

So who exactly is Wilhelm Busch and what did he 
know about it!? He was a humorist, poet, illustrator and 
painter, satirizing Catholicism, strict religious morality 
and bigotry. He even got himself banned in a few places. 
He was right, though, about that father thing being 
rough. 

 As Father’s Day is tomorrow, and if you still have 
a father, by all means celebrate him. It’s not too late to 
get a card if you haven’t already. My Dad, through no 
fault of his own, was absent for most of my life. I only 
saw him two or three times during my childhood, the 
last time being when I was fifteen and in my “Rebel 
Without a Cause and/or Good Sense” stage. As he was 
leaving the United States for an extended period, to work 
in Germany as an engineer for Lockheed, he took my 
mother and me out to dinner. I was sullen and smoked, 
for pity’s sake!

 Thanks to God’s perfect plans in our lives, I was 
reunited with my Dad in my 40’s when I began 
wondering where he was and what he was really like. But 
how do you find that needle in a haystack person when 
you know nothing about them. Then God stepped in. I 
was sitting out on my front porch one morning, reading 
Dear Abby, waiting to drive some kid to school when, 
right there in Dear Abby was just what I needed. Abby 
told me, and the immediate world, that the Salvation 
Army had a service in 80 countries around the world 
working to put lost relatives in touch with each other. A 
phone call, a form to fill out, a check for five bucks and 
my search was underway. A search, by the way, which 
was already in trouble due to lack of information: His 
Social Security number? Last known address? Other 
relatives? Correct spelling of names? Place of birth? I 
knew none of it. 

 But God had His hand on the situation. As I was 
reading Dear Abby, my Dad was sitting in his kitchen 
in Glendale!…reading Dear Abby. A phone call, a form, 
a check for five bucks and now both of us were in the 
search business. I sent it in and forgot about it. Months 
went by and one evening the phone rang. A Major Hood 
of the Salvation Army was on the other end, “I think I’ve 
found your father, ” she said. And she had! A delightful 
relationship began which continued through many 
years. He’s gone now, but his memory lives on for me in 
his artwork, which is all over my house - he was quite a 
famous artist. He’s in the book I wrote from the letters 
he sent me about his childhood, his Dad and the early 
wild days of California and Mexico (A Treasure Map, A 
Drunken Owl, and 47 Rattlers In A Bag!) – Available on 
my page on Amazon: DeanneDavis@Amazon.com 

 I am fortunate to have married an exceptional man 
who was a fantastic father. As I grew up without one, I 
had no clue how this worked, but John showed me that 
a father is patient, he is kind, he isn’t proud, doesn’t 
dishonor the children or his wife, not self-seeking, not 
easily angered, keeps no record of wrongs. A good father 
rejoices with the truth. Always protects, always trusts, 
always hopes, always perseveres. That means explaining 
the same algebra problem for the nineteenth time without 
throwing the book or the child on the floor. It means 
going to get a daughter and bring her home from a bad 
situation. It means staying awake at night when someone 
isn’t home who should be, and gently grounding them for 
a year. It means being so proud of every achievement, no 
matter how minor. This sounds a lot like that Corinthians 
13 thing, doesn’t it. The picture is two great dads, my own 
dad, Kim, and my beloved John.

 My son is an excellent father, dealing simultaneously 
with adult children, a five-year old and a three-year 
old. He’s tired, but he’s available to take little people to 
swimming lessons, read them a story or just hold them 
to give their mom a break.

 My son-in-law, Dave, is an splendid father. He and 
Patti have raised four exceptional people: David, who 
lives in Germany and is a wonderful father to his little 
girl, Erin, and his little son, Jamison; Nicole who works 
at the L.A. Zoo; Blake who has graduated from Biola and 
USC with Engineering degrees galore and Luke, who is 
talented, charming, bright, and will soon graduate from 
USC and star on Broadway one day. 

 My Arizona son-in-law, Chris, is the father of two 
little girls, adopted foster children, born of drug addicted 
mothers. These are not easy little people, but Chris and 
Crissy will keep on keeping on, being the best parents 
possible, rejoicing in these girls’ accomplishments and 
the neat people they are becoming.

 Take a look at the guys around you who are fathers, 
and tell them they are God’s appointed and anointed 
men and you appreciate them. I got to tell my Dad I 
loved him many times before he died, we missed that 
father-daughter thing, but I’ve seen the best at work in 
my family. I hope you have, too. Happy Father’s Day!

My book page: Amazon.com: Deanne Davis 

Kindle books of all sorts and hardcover “Tablespoon of 
Love” are on there,

 as is “Star of Wonder.”

Star of Wonder the CD is now on TuneCore! Take a look!

Blog: www.authordeanne.com

Follow me on Twitter, too! https://twitter.com/@
playwrightdd

MT. WILSON THEN AND NOW

The Sierra Madre Historical Preservation 
Society proudly presents a talk and slide show 
about the Mt. Wilson Observatory on Thursday, 
June 21st at 7:00 p.m. You do not want to miss 
this opportunity to hear a remarkable speaker 
recounting the history of the famous observatory 
on top of our mountains. 

 We are extremely fortunate that Tim 
Thompson, physicist, astronomer and 
observatory historian will be presenting this 
program. Mr. Thompson, who joined the 
laboratory staff of JPL in 1981, and who has 
volunteered at the observatory since that year, 
is a Mt. Wilson Institute Trustee. He was one 
of the founders of the observatory docent and 
session programs and serves as those programs’ 
director. 

 In addition, he has been President of the 
Los Angeles Astronomical Society for 11 years, 
receiving their Lifetime Achievement Award 
in 2004. His research experience includes 
planetary radio astronomy, atmospheric physics 
& chemistry, infrared geological remote sensing 
and infrared astronomy.

Thursday, June 12st

7:00 p.m.

Hark Park House in Memorial Park


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com