A Tribute to Mom and Dad

Today is Mom and Dad’s wedding anniversary, and yesterday was Father’s Day. On this occasion, I would like to reprint two thoughts I wrote some time ago for our beloved David R. Newton and Virginia Harriet Evans:


HE WAS FAITHFUL...

To the fundamental moral duty to
Seek out the truth in all things, and
Apply those truths in his life,
Leading him to live in accordance
To his convictions, and not just to
Talk about them with others.

He was faithful...
In fulfilling his responsibilities and
Not slacking, for he did his best
To ensure at all times that his
Wife and children would be
Provided with material, human
And spiritual sustenance.

He was faithful...
To the divine command to love
Without measure, not holding back,
For he freely gave and received in
Turn from most who knew him.

He was faithful.


THANK YOU, MOM

Thank you, Mom, for bringing me into this world and forming a united family for me, even when your relationship with Dad was not the best.

Thank you for pulling me out of the river and back into the row-boat by the scruff of my neck before the piranhas reached me.

Thank you for helping me explore the world, even when it meant doing things that nobody does, like playing with a cabbage.

Thank you for not being too strict in matters of order, letting me leave my room looking at times like the sun coming over the mountain.

Thank you for being respectful and supportive of my sense of identity, whether an Indian or a cowboy, even to the extent of changing my name.

Thank you for depriving us of so many things, like TV, that now I realize would have deprived us of so much more.

Thank you for making of the mountains our discotheque, of the forests our shopping malls, and of the paths and streams our main drag.

Thank you for teaching us, in our hasty running hither and thither, to stop and marvel at the lowliest blossom and the homeliest songster.

Thank you for the gemütlish times of warmth and cozy comfort; the tender moments of hugs and kisses.

Thank you for refraining from indoctrinating us, but rather teaching us to sing joyous praises to a Goodly Creator.

Thank you for kneeling with Dad in prayer by my bedside, and for the moments of silence at the table.

Thank you for all the meals we shared as a family, complete with the reading of exciting and inspiring stories.

Thank you for pineapple upside-down cake, shepherd’s pie, scalloped potatoes, spinach soufflé, oatmeal cookies, eggy pancakes, and other goodies.

Thank you for filling my free time and vacations with boy scouts, 4-H, summer camps, swimming, kayaking, square dancing, arts and crafts, and more.

Thank you for teaching me to cultivate the garden, bake bread, paint the house, use the sewing machine, fix the roof, and build a fire.

Thank you for encouraging and helping me to carry out my diverse projects and inspirations.

Thank you for challenging me to stretch my soul beyond its apparent limits and become all I could be.

Thank you for resisting the urge to protect, and giving me the freedom to travel alone, first by bicycle and then hitch-hiking.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas with me, and especially for listening patiently to mine.

Thank you for being a model of honesty, sincerity, simplicity, humility, and the seeking of forgiveness.

Thank you for teaching me to seek my own answers, and for being supportive, no matter where the search led me.

Thank you for your unfailing letters filled with detailed descriptions of the outer world, and also your inner concerns.

And finally, thank you, Mom, for being true to your convictions and setting an example of steadfastness and single-purposedness.