A Wonderful Compliment to a Father

[FreeThinker]

I was driving through town this afternoon and listening to something on NPR, I'm not sure what, but a gay man was speaking before an audience and describing how he was grateful for what he had learned from the years of abuse and prejudice he had experienced because it made him find the ecstasy in ordinary joys-- a wonderful thought. He then told the story of his fiftieth birthday party at which his four-year-old son told the man's husband that he wanted to give a speech. The husband brought the son to the microphone, made a big to-do about the boy wanting to speak and then held him up to the microphone, whereupon the four-year-old said, "I'm glad it's Daddy's birthday. I'm glad we have cake. And, Daddy, if you were little, I'd be your friend."

I got tears in my eyes when I heard that.

[Merkin]

Me, too.

[Cole Parker]

I hear that program while I was driving today, too. Out of the mouths of babes...

C

[Chris James]

Perhaps this piece was from the Ted Radio Hour on NPR. I have heard some fine speeches on that program and many of them can be viewed on YouTube. I support our local NPR radio station.

I think it's a very positive thing that people can support programming in their own community without excessive commercial advertising breaking up the moments of wisdom. A program I enjoyed was the speech George Takei gave abut his life and career. The grief he must have endured as a gay man for decades knowing that if he came out his career would be ruined by Hollywood homophobia.

This past Friday I heard Gever Tulley give a speech about how children should be exposed to dangerous things to help them face challenges in life...and I agree. You can listen to this program and many others:

http://www.npr.org/programs/ted-radio-hour/

[FreeThinker]

Thank you, Chris. I followed your link and it was, indeed, the TED Radio Hour. It was the final segment of the program and the speaker was author Andrew Solomon. The entire segment is worth listening to. I have listened to the TED talks in the past and they are always fascinating and thought-provoking.I urge everyone to follow the link in Chris's post and check them out.

Thank goodness for National Public Radio, where profit isn't the only determinant of value.