Discovery

One of the most gratifying things in writing the book about Swede is that many of my contemporaries, after reading it, have emphasized that it was a great motivator for them to explore and assess their relationships with their own fathers.  Some have been quite emotional while describing this.  This is somewhat different from my father's contemporaries, who seem to have truly loved remembering old times, as well as remembering someone who clearly made an impact with his warm, gentle nature, combined, of course, with his athletic stardom.

But for my contemporaries, I think many have seized the opportunity to take a positive look at growing up with their families, particularly their fathers.  Like my own experience, many have a new appreciation of their fathers.  If so, it makes me feel great that I may have nudged some old friends in this direction.  

My father, in may ways, was very ordinary.  He wasn't a genius, he wasn't wealthy, he didn't invent anything, he did not aspire to lead people, he wasn't an artist, and he wasn't a hero.  But in researching "SWEDE", I learned that in his own way he did lead people, he was a genius in his own way, to some he was a hero, he was inventive, and he certainly was beloved, which made him very wealthy, but in a non-monetary way.  The same holds true for most people, and that is why I'm thrilled to have enjoyed discovering these things about my father, and I'm thrilled that others are discovering similar things about their own fathers.

There is nothing more satisfying and enlightening than a son realizing how extraordinary his ordinary father really was.