Dear Customers,
Oops, I did it again! No, I’m not referring to the pop hit by Britney Spears, I’m referencing my apparent inability to use a calendar. This past Sunday was Father’s Day and I completely missed it. That’s inexcusable, particularly since I’ve been one myself for 48 years!
When I first started writing “Dear Customers”, nearly 50 years ago, I would sit down at my desk every Thursday morning and try to come up with a workable idea. Later that same afternoon, Bill Jones of the Bolivar Moneysaver would stop by and pick up my column as well as any ad changes we might have. Four days later it would go to print and into the mail arriving in your mailbox on Tuesday morning. From my pen to you in about five days! It was easy to stay “current” because I’d be writing about something that was going to happen within the next week!
Now, with printing deadlines, the demise of the Moneysaver and changes to the way you get our ad, I have to write a column almost a month before it gets into our ad or on-line. This is a perfect storm for me to forget something – regularly! For instance, I wrote the column for Father’s Day week on May 15th. I knew Father’s Day was sometime in June, but I didn’t have the exact date in mind when I sat down to write.
Mother’s Day gets all the glory, but Father’s Day is important to me because I loved and respected my Dad so much. He was the one I went to for advice and comfort, and he never failed to make me feel better – no matter the problem. More importantly, though, if he hadn’t had the ambition and foresight to build the first supermarket in McKean County some 63 years ago, we wouldn’t be here today. Had it been left up to me, I’m reasonably sure I’d have fallen far short.
So, here’s to my Dad and all the dads, gone but not forgotten by any means. And if you are one of the lucky ones to still have your Dad among the living, count your blessings – and take a minute to tell him so!