Living here in the great Peace Garden State and in Bismarck places me just about 1500+ miles or a non stop 24 hour drive or a good 8 hour flight, with connections, away from my 83 year old Dad or as I call him "Pop".

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As we recognize and celebrate Father's Day, I sit back and recall the things I learned from my dad, Mr. Carroll LeBlanc

1) Work hard, and hard work always pays off. My dad set the example! He always worked 2 jobs to provide for his family. You see, he had a big army of a family to provide for. I am the baby of 5. My parents had 4 kids in 3 years ( my brother and sister are twins) and I came along 4 years after a small break. Dad always worked a day job and a night job to provide a really good life for us. He never did complain. We didn't have much. At the time, we thought we had more than the rest. A huge house, a lot of land, a little white house in the backyard to play in and sleep in during the summer months in South Louisiana. We really weren't allowed in the house during the summer months. We had chores, we lived on a farm, we had animals, a garden and work had to be done. No reason to go in the house, we had work to do. Plus, the little house in the back was enough for us and our friends loved it.

2) Always make time for family. Even with working 2 jobs, my dad always made time to be with and support his family. It didn't matter if it was taking the family to the camp on weekends, summer vacations, fishing, hunting, going to my brothers boxing matches, ball games, or watching my brother's races (they are jockey's) or supporting my sister's dreams of becoming a nurse, or driving me to the radio station at the age of 12, to hang out and watch to learn, my dad was there and gave us the emotional and physical support we needed to grow and become the adults we are.

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3) It's ok for men to Love- say I love you or to hug or cry and to respect women. We have a sister and we were taught at a very young age, you never hit a girl! Everyday that went by, my mom and dad always said to us kids- I LOVE YOU! Every single day, we were hugged! Everyday, we would kiss our parents Good Morning and Good Night. We lost my oldest brother when I was in high school. It was at the point in life, I knew it was alright for men to cry. That was a struggle and a fight to understand why. Why and how could this happen to a 21 year old? It was at that point, I saw my dad set the example of how to struggle though the loss of a son. Also how to keep a family together when the family struggles to understand life and death. He set the example of how to get through the struggles of life, with respect and dignity.

It's still a good life! As I sit here in North Dakota and my dad is 1500 miles away, we still talk often. At 83 years old, Pop is in GREAT health!  He has never had any major health issues. Heck, Dad still enjoys fishing, driving, drinking, cussing and loving! Sure his hearing in not as good as it used to be. And his eye sight is about as good as his eyes are, but at 83, he is still the example of a man, that I am proud to call FATHER. We talk often, I go home as much as I can. Dad has learned how to text. He actually loves to text because of his poor hearing, texting is easier. My favorite story about texting my dad, recently I ended our conversation with the way we always end it  "I Love You" and I included the smiley face icon :-).  Hours went by and I received a text from dad. "Son, what the hell is that suppose to mean"? I had a good chuckle and replied " a smiley face". A few minutes went by and I received another text message from dad "well smiley face back to you son".

I am so blessed to have the man I call Father! My Dad- Carroll LeBlanc- HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

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