Happy Father's Day

June 12, 1996

Father's Day Doesn't Come Close to Mother's Day

By Clyde Noel, Town Crier Staff Writer

When the Town Crier co-sponsored the "Why I love my Los Altos Mom" contest for Mother's Day, more than 60 entries were received from different children's age groups. The Town Crier is currently co-sponsoring with the Los Altos Village Association, "The Greatest Dad in Los Altos" and only 20 entries were received.

The evidence is mounting. Father's Day gets no respect. It's the Rodney Dangerfield of family celebrations.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there are approximately 85 million fathers in the United States. That would indicate if everyone telephoned their fathers on Fathers Day more than 85 million calls to dad would be made.

AT&T calling volume last year on Mother's Day was 110 million calls and most of those calls were made to dear mom. On Father's Day it was less than 84 million and that's just a few more calls than a normal Sunday.

It gets worse. If Dad got a call, the chances are, it was collect. AT&T reports that more collect calls are placed on Father's Day than on any other day during the year.

I asked a neighbor what he had in mind for father's day. "What I always do on Father's Day. I sit on the couch and watch the NBA finals. The last or next to last game is always on Father's Day and that's my day when nobody bothers me," he said. "The NBA created Father's Day didn't it?"

My neighbor's wrong. The first Father's Day was observed in Spokane, Wash., in 1910. Eighty-five years later, it's still hard to remember when Father's Day is held.

Sonora Louise Smart Dodd, the organizer of Father's Day, came up with the idea as a tribute to her single father who raised her and six brothers without help. She wanted Father's Day to be celebrated on the first Sunday in June, her father's birthday. However, the Spokane council couldn't get the resolution through the first reading until the third Sunday in June. Then the U.S. Congress approved the celebration and formalized it in 1971.

According to the Father's Day Council for Advertising, the median number of gifts dad will receive will be 2.5 and the accumulated value of the merchandise is about $70.

Gifts for mom require a lot of creativity so we spend a little more money on mom. For dad, socks, shirts, ties and shavers are what we buy for Father's Day. Last year, 78 million electric razors were sold for the whole year and 15 percent of the total were sold for Father's Day.

I asked my neighbor what he received for Father Day's gifts "I get the same thing every year," he said. "The socks are too small, the shirt sleeves are too long, the ties are atrocious and I send the electric razor to Willie Nelson."

So maybe we should skip presents this year. Instead, make this coming Sunday a perfect day for dad. Here are some suggestions:

Rent "Three Stooges" movies for him to watch before the NBA finals.

Place the TV control in his lap.

Load down the candy dish with potato chips and cookies.

Tell him he's the greatest dad in Los Altos.

If you have to go to tradition, call him collect, then send him a shirt with the sleeves too long and include an obnoxious tie.

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