The Rev Jack's Diary
Created | Updated Jul 14, 2004
Father's Day
It's going to be a nice Father's Day, as it is my very first Father's Day being a new dad and all. So first off I'd like to say I got my dad a bottle of whisky, a nice single malt! Oban single malt. So with that out of the way, I'll continue!
My better half ask what I wanted for Father's Day.
'Oh' I said and 'Me?' and 'I don't really know, being a newbie dad in all.'
'Well I'll think of something' she said
'Pheww.' I went, and got back to reading my newspaper, but
she got me thinking about it. Now, as a man, you're not usually asked what you want for a present. It's not in the contract, well not beyond the age of 12. Of course you get the usual stuff; socks, hanky's, aftershave and shotgun (that was from my mother, always very thoughtful and well armed) but just what do you want when you meet mid-age head on. Hair? False teeth? New glasses?
Lunch was placed in front of me,
'Thank you, twinkle' I said and she sat down next to me. Opposite was Ash, my new daughter. I was still thinking about this conundrum when the missus said
'So what's the matter, with you now, you're not still thinking about the Father's Day present, because it's too late now!'
So it was too late, because I was'nt sure about what I wanted at the time of asking and really I still don't. I go to work for the afternoon shift, I have a chat with Mike over a cuppa and a set of brakes.
'You're mad mate, just take what present she gives you. I have never had a gift from my missus, ever! And the last one was even more tightfisted than this one!' said Mike
'You never had a present from your missus? What never!?' I
said.
'NEVER' came the reply! It was 18.00 and dinner break!
The 30 minutes break, was over and we were back working on the truck brakes, not talking as it was the difficult bit of the job, but it was still spinning around in my head, the fact that Mike has never had a present from his wife or kids! I phoned home, and I said
'Can I have a say in what my present will be?'
'No, you had your chance... Oh go on then, what is it you want?' she said.
'Time' I said 'I want some time, just a little, some time to spend with you and the nipper, and stuff like that, I think I'm fed
up of chasing my tail trying to make time'. There was silence and I thought she was going to call me a t**t or something like it, but no!
All she said was 'Ok' and 'I'll see you later!'
I felt a bit strange after this phone call, funny feeling deep inside, like I've asked for something that I should'nt have asked for! It felt like I was 5 years old again! It was like being caught with my hand in the sweet jar.
For some while now it's been a concern of mine that we just waste time, like going to work long hours. Overtime is just a waste of time. If you can't do all the allotted work in the allotted time how can you be efficient by adding a few hours on the end of the day or by taking it home? Oh yea, employers allow you to do this but then shout when you need a day off for a little R and R, when the weather nice, or something along those lines. So, as you can tell, I'm a little bitter over this. In England we work the longest hours of anywhere in Europe. Why? Can someone tell me why! And why do we have the least public holidays too?
In this merry old England of ours, the government is concerned by the fact that people are in debt, lots of debt, so some little spokesman is wheeled out and starts spouting off about the latest government spin! But remember that's where they want you, in debt! Reason is this, you earn just enough for your mortgage/rent, to
run a car, have enough for a 2 week holiday in the Costas, buy some food, pay your utility bills, go out on a Fri/Sat night and go to back to work but, if you fancy a little bit more quality of life, slightly better car, stuff like that, there's a way. Just sign for a loan. It doesn't matter what the interest is, you're earning, you're at work and there's always overtime!
A very large government circle is appearing here - you can apply it to almost all circumstances. For example, speed cameras! You're caught speeding 31mph in a 30mph zone and the penalty is £100 fine and 3 points on your license. You have 4 times of getting caught till you reach 12 points then you're banned from driving. That equals £400+ of revenue. Due to some outcry the government changed it to £100 and 2 points so that means 2 extra times to get caught and that equals £600+ of revenue. You can see where I'm going with this? But it's still about time!
This has nothing to do with the rich or the poor, it's about the people who do the work in this country; Mr and Mrs Average. The ones
who have car insurance, to go with the car and, because they own a mortgage, can pay the fine when their caught speeding because they admit to it, because they are honest. They also have the everyday sort of crime committed against them, bearing in mind that they pay the police's wages and end up being treated quite badly by the police. They are fined by a court and still they end up paying for the privilege by way of higher insurance. They pay taxes to pay for the non-existent policing and then, on the news, hear of a gang of youths terrorizing some local shops or something like that. A local community policing officer says that they can't be 'effective in policing' the area until they get some more CCTV's in the area, so some more funding there
then. I wonder who's going to pay for that then? It ends up as we are, by working more overtime to pay for the rise in the local taxation, back to wasting our time again as this is non profit making time, we don't get to spend it as we want, more time expense!
So, I want to have some time with my missus and Ash, as it's so limited to me, to us all really, a really precious thing. It wasn't
until my own daughter was born that I decided to do something about it - because it made me a dad. So, for Father's Day, I want some time please! Not too much but just a little!
