I don’t remember these touching moments, nor do I recall any of the stories about him tossing a football with my brothers in the front yard. I’ve read the books he wrote about my early childhood and wondered who this man was that claimed to have held me on his lap. If we were too loud or demanding, he’d be quick to let us know. “Dad’s had a long day and he’s very tired.” Mom would rush to greet him, tearing off her oven mitts so she could take his briefcase. Most days he would be gone before we woke up and arrive home shortly before dinner. He also served as an elder at our Southern Baptist church while running the PR department of a Fortune 500 company.
It was a symptom of feminism and put everyone in jeopardy by enabling women to go back to work.ĭad was equally passionate about promoting family values and lobbied against gay marriage at the state capitol. She had a lot of opinions on how other people should raise their children and had been outraged when our church opened a daycare center. Mom had graduated with a degree in home economics and thought it was cruel when other families allowed their kids to eat dinner in front of the TV. We had the big house in the country, five happy kids, and an American flag flying on the front porch. In the Christian parenting books he authored, we were always the perfect family. This was not the way my father would have written our story. After years of trying, we had finally caught my father soliciting sex from strangers. The camera recorded its own reflection in the dark glass as they waited. They pulled up to him like they were waiting at a stoplight. They sped after him until he stopped just as abruptly as he’d taken off. When he realized it was his two sons in the car, and not the guy who had responded to his personal ad, he hit the gas and his tires screeched as he took off in the opposite direction. Was that something you did when you were meeting a teenager for sex in the alley behind a sporting goods store? They drove closer, unsure of what would happen next.ĭad had sent the time and location for the meet-up, expecting a quickie.
I never noticed how dark his windows were tinted, but now it made sense. The video camera focused on Dad’s car in the distance. My brothers started recording as soon as they hit the parking lot.