Dad's Best Advice: Your Father's Day Story?

Last week, we asked when you learned your father was fallible. Now, tell us the advice you got that you'll always remember.

I remember the advice. I don't always remember to use it. My father was teaching me to drive. Now that I'm teaching my son, I can't imagine how he must have felt to get me behind the wheel those first few times. But one particular piece of advice stuck with me. As I paused at the entrance to a busy street for seemingly an eternity, he just reminded me, quietly: Be patient. There will be an opening. It will come. Don't rush it. I've shared that advice with my son because, of course, it's topical right now. But when he gets older, he, like me, will realize that advice isn't just meant for the driver's seat. Be patient. Now, if I can just remember to use it... Last week, we tried to be a little tongue-in-cheek and ask when you realized your …

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Hazelwood Patch's Father Features

Fun Father's Day Facts By the Numbers

Here's a few facts about Hazelwood dads you may not know.

Father's Day is Sunday. This Patch editor would like to give an early shoutout to the great dads out there. I'm sure many in the City of Hazelwood appreciate all the hard-work and care dads everywhere put into everything they do. (Remember you can like Hazelwood Patch on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HazelwoodPatch. Don't forget to visit Twitter: twitter.com/HazelwoodPatch, or signup for the Hazelwood Patch newsletter here.) So here are a few fun Father's Day facts to throw at your dad: 70.1 million: Estimated number of fathers across the nation. 25.3 million: The number of fathers that are part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2010. Of those: 1.8 million: Number of single fathers in 2010; and 15 percent of single…

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When Did You Learn Your Father Was Fallible?

With Father's Day approaching, can you share a story of the day you realized even Father doesn't always know best?

I was in my mid-teens the year my family set up for dinner at an old wooden beach house. My father was rigging a small 12-inch charcoal grill so we could use it to make hotdogs out on the wooden deck, even though he couldn't find the legs for the grill. He pulled a pot out of the kitchen as a base, set the grill on the pot, put the whole contraption on the wooden deck, and commenced lighting the coals. I looked cockeyed at the contraption, wondering why the heat of the coals wouldn't flow through the grill, through the pot and onto the wooden deck. But he was my father! Surely he must know something I didn't know. He didn't. Within a few minutes, a scorch mark appeared on the deck—a mark on the rented beach house deck that ultimately took …

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Father's Day: Fast Facts about Fathers

Patch offers some interesting facts that you might not have known about our nation's fathers.

Father's Day started in 1909 when Sonora Dodd listened to a Mother's Day sermon and decided that fathers needed a special day, too. Dodd's father was a Civil War veteran who raised six children by himself after his wife's death. A date in June 1910 was chosen because Dodd's father was born in June. In 1966,  President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day, and in 1972, President Richard Nixon signed Father’s Day into law. Sources:

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Hazelwood Patch Picks

Patch Picks: An Ideal Father's Day From A Father's Perspective

Here's some ideas on what to do with dad, from a dad.

Fishing: It's a hobby for some and therapeutic for others. An affordable gift, take dad fishing locally at some place like Truman Park or Bush Wildlife. If you can do it big, take him on a fishing trip somewhere in or out-of-state. Camping: It can be a family affair. Even someone who isn't considered an outdoorsman can fake it with all of the equipment stores like Cabela's sell to make camping an easy outing. Get lost at a Missouri State Park. Time Out: Just like mom, sometimes dad needs a day off. If you have that kind of dad, grant him some serenity by disappearing for the day. But have some meals made and ready to go, with the remote in sight on the couch. Stay In: Instead of taking dad to a crowded restaurant or a sticky movie theater…

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Hazelwood Patch Picks

Patch Picks: A Father's Day Gift Guide

Most Dad's are hard to shop for. They seem to have exactly what they need and shun you away if you try to give them anything. So here are some gift ideas that no father can resist.

Family: The best gift you can give dad is your undivided attention. No gift can compare to sitting down and shooting the breeze with the man who's known you all your life. Time goes by so fast that it's hard to catch up these days. You haven't heard all of "dear ol' dad's" stories--well maybe, but listen anyway. Bring a framed photo of the two of you and reminisce about when it was taken. Golf: If your dad is the golfing type and you are not, why not give him a run for his money at the Putting Edge Fun Center located at St. Louis Mills? Fun for all ages, this mini course offers glow-in-the-dark golfing. Bring out the kid in him and just have some old-fashioned fun. Even better--on Father's Day, dads play for free. If he'd rather have a …

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Hazelwood Patch's Father Features

Hazelwood Patch is Looking for some Great Dads

As we wind up to Father's Day, we'd like to feature some great dads and tell why they are appreciated. Submit your dad today.

Father's Day will be upon us very soon. We at Hazelwood Patch would like to feature some great dads as we build up to the special occasion. Do you know of someone living or deceased that was a great father or father-figure? Submit some information about him for Hazelwood Patch's Father Features. The plan--a feature twice a week with a nice group feature on Father's Day. But we need your participation for this to happen. Here's what we need from you: You can email all entries to candace.jarrett@patch.com.

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