Of Moose and Men

Father’s Day is tomorrow. So, of course, I thought of this moose. 

The strangest things can cause reflection and stranger are the things that come from it. When I saw the date on the calendar, I thought about this time last year, my First Father’s Day, and things that have changed. But being a reader, I thought of Atticus Finch as well. To Kill a Mockingbird will always be one of my favorite books and Atticus is one of the main reasons.

Apart from having one of the best names of any literary character, he is such an iconic figure of men and fatherhood. His character was able to embody integrity and a caring father while still rebelling against the standard school of thought that most men of his time held. His traits will always make him one of my favorite characters and one I won’t forget.

Here’s where the moose comes in.

In college I lived with a group of fraternity brothers and somehow we became the owners of a wooden moose. We put him on the mantle and dressed him up for holidays and took pictures with him. He became a mascot of sorts for our apartment. And for reasons that have escaped me now, we decided to name him Atticus. So for me the image of this moose is as synonymous with the name Atticus as Gregory Peck.

Father’s Day = Atticus Finch = Atticus the Moose

As I thought of the moose and the time he lived with me I thought about how things have changed. Most of the guys I lived with are all adults and many have children of their own. I’ve got two little boys that I now roughhouse with and we dress them up for holidays too (for Halloween one was a monkey & the other a banana). My time with mantle mascots has passed. Now I live life still trying to make the transition of hanging out with a moose to raising little men. My life of moose and men.

Me and mine

Happy Father’s Day to my own father and any dad who reads this.

 

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” – Atticus Finch

What does Father’s Day make you think of? Leave a comment below.