I can remember when I was seven years old, turning eight, in October of 1962. Like now, it was close to Halloween and there was something really scary on the horizon-the possibility of nuclear war with the Soviet Union. This was the Cold War showdown between Kennedy and Kruschev which we remember as “The Cuban Missile Crisis.” I was scared and only seven. Too young to die!
It was really weird at school too. Each day our principal would walk around and blare his warning siren, when we were to promptly get under our school desks and then at a certain signal, orderly walk to three areas, one red, one blue and the other yellow. Then, depending upon the color we were designated to go to, each group was supposed to start walking towards their home. Who was the genius that thought up this system? I wasn’t any Einstein at seven, but I figured if we were nuked we would either have died sometime while were under our desks by the force of the blast or the radiation would for sure poison us as we walked home to a slow and agonizing death.
I remember at dinner asking my dad about what we would do if a nuclear war did occur. It was interesting that in times like that I looked to my DAD, not my Mom. (Father Power!) His answer was about as comforting as the ingenious color-coded plan devised by the principal at my school. “We would get into our plane and fly around for awhile.” My father, being a private pilot who owned a single prop plane had a plan--he would take us up in his plane and we would “fly around for awhile.” Even in second grade I could understand that this was not a very well thought out plan. That is when I got on my knees in my bedroom and begged GOD to spare us! He was really our only hope. And thankfully we all know that He did.
So here we are today as dads and we are facing some similar scary events. Our economy is facing its greatest crisis since the Great Depression or at least the 1970’s. We are being threatened by Islamo-fascism around the globe and Russian bear is beginning to growl again. Everyone is asking in this presidential election, “Who is the man who can best keep us safe?” McCain says that he is the one with the military background, senatorial experience and the track record of standing on the side of victory in Iraq. On the other hand, Obama says that our reckless entry into war in Iraq has cost the U.S. in its alliances around the world, over-stretched its military assets and hindered our ability to get Osama Bin Laden. No matter who becomes president, just as I looked to my Dad in 1962 during that national crisis, our children will look to us as their dads for comfort and protection. Yes, it’s a scary time but it is an opportune time to model and teach our kids to experience peace and calm amidst the different crises facing our nation and families.
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