We asked some of our Global News dads and role models about the best Father’s Day gifts they’ve ever received. Here’s what they had to say about it:
Alan Carter shares his favourite Father’s Day gadget
We have a crab apple tree in our front yard that each summer rains down apples for weeks on end. I don’t worry about people slipping on ice on our sidewalk in the winter, but it’s only a matter of time before an old lady breaks her hip after wiping out in the fermented applesauce that coats everything in July. A few years ago for Father’s Day my kids bought me an apple rolling gadget that looks a little like a lottery ball dispenser on the end of a stick. With it I can roll up the apples lickety-split without having to crawl around on all fours picking them up one by one. With one inspired Father’s Day gift my kids not only saved my back, but also innumerable old lady hips.
Liam Nixon looks forward to his first Father’s Day
My twins were born in August of 2014, so this Father’s Day will be my first. I originally thought ‘Maybe a golf day would be nice’, but now I can’t think of a better present than the chance to just spend the day with them. As any parent knows, the first year of a child’s life is so full of new sounds (mostly screams and yells), actions (the crawling… oh the crawling!) and other milestones (learning how to pull the dog’s tail) and I want to witness as many of those ‘first moments’ as possible. I can’t think of a better gift than being in my backyard, swinging in the hammock with my twins climbing all over me. Golf can wait.
Liam Nixon is Anchor and Newsroom Manager for Global News Lethbridge.
Asa Rehman is grateful for his first Father’s Day gift
The best Father’s Day gift I’ve received would have to be the first. I only have a couple to choose from, so that makes the decision a little easier. I usually don’t know how to react to gifts for occasions. Maybe it’s because I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve gifts for birthdays or Christmas. I’m not saying I’m the world’s greatest dad (probably 3rd behind Chris Gailus and some other guy), but I certainly feel appreciated and loved. So every morning when I use my Edwin Jagger brush and razor, I’m reminded of the joy I felt when I first opened it. It will be hard to top that experience but I look forward to sharing the next one with our newest addition. She’s had six good months to come up with something great!
Asa Rehman is Global News: BC 1 Weekend Anchor and Global News Reporter.
Ron Waksman’s favourite gift hits a high note
When the boys (now 24, 21 and 18) were little we made a point of always surrounding them with music. My wife plays the piano beautifully, but she’ll stop if she senses someone is listening. There were lullabies before bed, Aladdin or Lion King in the car, piano and guitar lessons and of course “Daddy’s Greatest Hits.” I used to make up funny lyrics to songs they knew, mostly popular songs from the radio, Disney movies and TV shows. I’d include their names, quirks and interests and walk around the house singing these songs. I seemed to have a knack for coming up with originally stupid lyrics. Singing these songs often worked to defuse tantrum situations by breaking the tension. When Noah, my eldest, would get angry about something I would sing him “Angry Boy,” based on Andrew Gold’s circa 1980’s hit “Lonely Boy.” I had lyrics for just about everything from a road trip to Florida, forgive me John Denver, to when I started losing my hair. That little ditty was called “I Have No Hair at the TOP of my Head.” I would often joke with the kids that they had better write these songs down because one day I wouldn’t be around to sing them. Well, a number of years ago the boys and my wife sat down and wrote down as many lyrics as they could possibly remember to my silly songs. I will never forget the Father’s Day they presented me with those lyrics in the form of a song book. It dawned on me that these ridiculous little songs had become part of the fabric of their childhood and had helped define what kind of father I was. I can even see them continuing the tradition with their kids.
Ron Waksman is the Director of Online & Current Affairs for Global News.
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