Gifts are amazingly tough to find these days. As you get older, it gets even tougher because you run out of ideas, but if you think real hard, you’ll realize the presents you’ve handed out in the past don’t really
Gifts are amazingly tough to find these days. As you get older, it gets even tougher because you run out of ideas, but if you think real hard, you’ll realize the presents you’ve handed out in the past don’t really come close to sentimental surprises.
Today, as all of you are aware, is Father’s Day. The pairs of socks, shirts, hammers, ropes, knives, fishing poles and wrenches given to dads all around the island should count for something.
However, Lihu‘e PONY Mustang All-Star baseball coach Fred Marcelino made me realize how small things really do go the extra mile.
Marcelino said after his boys clinched the Kaua‘i PONY Mustang title, the finest words of appreciation of being a father.
When Lihu‘e coaches were youth baseball players way back when, Marcelino said they weren’t able to capture a title.
But on Thursday, the coaching staff witnessed something they could never accomplish as players — a championship.
“It feels awesome,” Marcelino said after the game.
His effervescent smile could’ve lit up one of the caves in Ha‘ena. He was a proud parent, watching his son creating special memories on the diamond. I’m not a father yet, but I can just imagine what Marcelino was feeling.
It’s hard not to notice what special bond there is between a father and a son.
Jimmy Tokioka, another proud father, is attached to his son, Pono, like a surfboard is on water. Tokioka, a Kaua‘i County Council member, takes time out of his busy schedule to coach Pono, who recently earned a spot on the Lihu‘e Bronco All-Star squad. I have a few friends with young ones, and when I ask them about the experience, they harp the same feelings.
“When I get off from a bad day at work, I come home to see my girl and when she gives me a big smile and says ‘Hi daddy’ I forget about whatever was bothering me at work,” Vernon Suguitan said.
I’ve been blessed to have a supportive father, who stands behind both my sister and I through every single ordeal — good or bad.
When you have the backing from your father, it makes everything else fall into place.
For instance, whenever I fell into tough times in college, I would always rely on my parents for support.
No money? No problem. Feeling homesick? They’re just a phone call away with words of encouragement.
Whenever I ask my father what he wants for Father’s Day, it’s usually the same response — don’t need nothing.
You see, giving gifts from the heart makes the most sense.
Making your father proud by graduating high school, getting a college degree, helping him out with his meat distribution business, hitting nails down on roofs or helping him brand cattle are all just as important as a hat or watch.
Because the greatest gift received by a father is the one you never look to your wallet for some assistance!
• Duane Shimogawa Jr., sports editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 257) or kauaisports@kauaipubco.com.
