Dear Daddy...

While I was sitting here wondering what to write for you this month my thoughts turned to "fathers in literature." Being a big reader and a movie buff I sometimes get them confused. Some of my favorite fathers though have been in the pages and on the screen both.

Atticus Finch in "To Kill A Mockingbird"is probably my all time favorite. Gregory Peck portrays the father in the story so well. He is perfect as the wise and kind father, with hidden strengths and obvious integrity. I never tire of that story or Gregory Peck, for that matter.

Mr. Bennet in "Pride & Prejudice" is another favorite, although not as inspiring as Atticus, he has a patience that is unmatched in that household of diverse women. Would that our own fathers could put up with such craziness? Mine certainly wouldn't. I love Mr. Bennet's wit, which doesn't spare anyone, including himself.

Now, as for some of the not-so-nice fathers. Mr. O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind" wasn't such a bad sort to start out with, but he went quite mad when his wife died and left his daughters to fend for themselves. Not good, dear old dad. I'm afraid I lost patience with him when he did that. Much like the father in "The Poisonwood Bible," who was a royal pain to not only his family, but to the Africans he ministered to. I disliked him immensely.

Mr. Craven in "Secret Garden" unfortunately started out just about as bad as Mr. O'Hara. Ignoring his son after his wife died, when he son needed him so desperately. Thankfully, dad came out of his funk when his ward, a difficult child at best, pulled his son out into the garden, where he grew stronger and she grew as lovely as the flowers they tended. I can appreciate a character who grows with the story and Mr. Craven did.

Who are your favorite fathers in literature or film?

--> A lifetime resident of the Midwest, B.D. Tharp graduated Magna Cum Laude from Wichita State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications, Women/Minority Studies and Fine Arts.  Her award winning women’s fiction novel, Feisty Family Values, is available on her website, Watermark Books, Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com. Feisty Family Values was chosen one of the 150 Kansas Best Books, a finalist for the USA News Best Books of 2010, and winner of the J. Coffin Memorial Book Award for 2011.