My Knight in Shining Armor

I wrote this article about Hank in June, 1991, for the newsletter where I worked. My supervisor submitted it to our local paper and they ran it prior to Father’s Day.

This is for all husbands and fathers for this Father’s Day especially mine.

His armor is not made of metal anymore and only shines when it is wearing out, which is all too often these days. It is now just a suit or a uniform and not very protective.

He leaves his castle every morning with different dragons to slay than the knights of old. He is in search of a different Holy Grail. It used to be simpler a few years ago—the knight only sought a roof over the heads of his family, food on their table and clothes on their backs. Now, he must find microwaves, new cars, designer clothing, vacations and anything else his family desires.

His armor has changed and his searching has changed, but most of all, the dragons he must now slay are more fearsome than ever, He must fight inflation at every turn in the road. He must wrestle with the fact that many wives nowadays leave their husbands and children to go find themselves and he must wonder if it will happen to him and how to prevent it. He must kill the jealous feelings he has when someone else is promoted and he knows he should have been. Women’s lib has sometimes changed him from feeling like a king to feeling like a court jester.

I appreciate what you go through every day and you will always be my knight in shining armor.