Editor's Commentary: His 'Old School' Dad

(Jeff Fortson, editor of JeffCars.com, poses with his dad.)

As we celebrate Father's Day this weekend, I wanted to take a moment to highlight my dad. Yes, its not often that black men are celebrated or for that matter, even recognized for their good deeds, except once a year - Father's Day. While the world will tell you that black men don't stick around and how they're unfaithful (along with other groups too), I must honestly say my dad doesn't fit the typical stereotypes of  today's modern day dads.

Ok, some will say I grew up in a fantasy world. If that's the case, I prefer to remain in 'dream land', as opposed to the one today where we've been inundated with reality-TV, also known as trash TV, which rarely show men (and more specifically black men) in a positive light.

Boy, how I yearn for the day when we can have well-produced high-quality shows like The Cosby Show, Good Times or Father's Knows Best, which reflected strong men featured in a positive light, heading the household. Yes, the fathers in the shows cited would be considered 'Old School' dads.

Now I do realize due to the shift in the family structure and the current state of the economy most women are making more than men these days, calling the shots. It was just something about the 'Old School' dad's like mine that gave little boys and little girls a sense of comfort and an awareness about family life, values and morals. Moreover, we weren't forced to take on adult issues as a kid. Kids were just able to be kids, developing a sense of self.


I don't know about you, but it took me a few decades to really have a true appreciation for how much my dad loved his boys, after how strict I thought he was, while growing up. And added to that, I never got over the fact that he forced me go to kindergarten, before I turned five, after I spent my childhood days not at a daycare, but with my dad literally watching over me, before he had to go work the night shift at GM. Conversely, once I officially enrolled in school I truly believe that was the end of what seemed to be our personal time to bond and hang out, while both of my brothers were at school and my mom was at work. I literally had dad all to myself.

Its amazing many years later how subconsciously followed my dad's footsteps years later. Yes, as I now realize, I mirror him in so many ways ... even in being highly-opinionated and stern too, when needed.
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My dad, who I cited earlier worked for GM, was one of the first wave of blacks in the sixties to get a really good paying factory job, building vehicles. My mom, who he will be married to for fifty years this July, urged him to leave an average-paying factory job for one that would afford him the opportunity years later to put two of his three boys through college. ( My oldest brother opted for the military and decided not to complete his post-secondary education.)

Ironically, as I've come to realize many years later, when my dad worked at GM, one of things I remembered most were the annual trips my mom and I made visiting him at the plant for Family Day, which I always looked forward to. Yes, this annual outing had a tremendous impact on me. I guess that's why I constantly collected Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars and loved the time my dad spent building railroad tracks for my electric train. All of these things heightened my interest in the transportation industry.

Now while I knew I didn't have the desire or skill set needed to work at an assembly plant, those trips to my dad's job eventually led me to a life of traveling around the country consulting with dealers, working for his competitor, the Chrysler Corporation. You just never know what impact your dad will have on you, as it relates to your career path, family life or just life in general. Although I no longer work for his competitor, as you well know, still today my dad and I can have a healthy conversation about, politics, life, responsibility, family and yes, the auto industry. Boy, am I glad I have an 'Old School' dad. I wonder what would I be passionate about today if my dad had not been around? I'm glad he wasn't a player or an illegal pharmaceutical sales representative. Had he been I probably would be writing a different commentary today.

Again, with this being Father's Day weekend, I would like to thank my dad for unconsciously steering me toward my passion, for being a loving husband to my mom and more importantly being a great role model for his boys (and the community at large)! Boy, little does he know he's got big shoes for me to fill. Still today, many decades later, I yearn to make sure that I represent the family name. I never want to bring any dishonor to the family name. In many ways, we're all still little boys and little girls, who happen to be in adult bodies, always wanting to make our dad (and mom) proud ...regardless if they're here (or if they've transitioned). Just think: what impact has your dad had on you? Or better yet ask yourself: what impact are you having on today's youth?