Hindsight

        This week, we read two pieces based on a Dad's relationship with their children. "Shooting Dad" by Sarah Vowell describes the father-daughter relationship while "Arm-Wrestling with My Father" by Brad Manning describes the father-son relationship. Both Vowell and Manning weren't able to really understand why their Dads treated them in a specific ways until much later. It is often said that "Hindsight is 20-20"(Even for Carol, who didn't wear her safety goggles and now doesn't need them) and both these stories Vowell and her Dad have butted heads over guns for the longest time. Vowell thinks that she and her dad don't have much in common and attempts to reconnect by accompanying her dad in testing a cannon. Being a journalist, Vowell decides to bring her complex recording equipment. Only when an unsuspecting hiker comments on their experiment does Vowell realize how much she and her dad have in common. Vowell exclaims "Oh. My. God. My dad and I are the same person." Manning undergoes a other type of revelation after many years. When Manning finally beats his Dad in arm wrestling, he rethinks his entire relationship with his father. He realizes that his father is growing old and that he will now have to take care of his father. He is finally able to see how much his dad has done for him. Only recently, I have been able to see Dad has done for me. My Dad, like Manning's father, is getting old. A few years ago, he had to undergo back surgery and it was a big change. Things that my Dad used to do were now arduous tasks for my sister and I. I finally appreciated what my Dad has done for years without demanding anything.  In hindsight, I bet Carol regrets not wearing safety goggles.