So what did your dad do?

It used to be an evaluation of your character through your ancestry. What your family name meant might get you a job or a bank account or an invitation to an exclusive organization.

If your name was in the public registry as a ‘first family’ who came over on the Mayflower and carved out property by displacing the indigenous people and bringing in slaves for labor.

After you fill in your name, address, social security number and religion, the possible employer will try to figure you out by your demeanor, dress, and speech but want to find some reference to your soul.

Fortunately (or unfortunately) our dynasty is our luggage we can use or avoid.

Once associated with other kids (other than family) we started to compare notes. What kind of car does your dad drive? Do you wear the same kind of clothes as I do? Do you attend the same church? Does your family invite me to dinner? Do we feel good just hanging out?

My parents and my schoolmates seemed to seem similar. Everyone had a mom and dad and everyone had a house like ours and everyone attended similar places.

Then I moved into being an exploitative teen. The schoolmates changed and fitting-in became relevant to new friends. The caste of friends who I’d been growing up with were becoming distant and disinteresting. Expanding my horizons or stumble upon met new friends from parts unknown.

While I associated with the American Dream of middle class, I now was finding people who were honest, fun and without precedence.

How does this tie into my first comment of ‘what does your dad do?’ is part of our self-description.

 The kids my parents introduced me to growing up had dads who were lawyers, doctors, bankers, politicians, radio celebrities, club and restaurant owners, etc.

The kids I started to associate with who I found fascinating had dads who were in the military, mechanics, electricians, auto repair, etc. It didn’t matter that these kids didn’t have a silver service or dined at the steak house, but they introduced me to pizza and cheap beer.

It really doesn’t matter what your family ancestry was. Each of us have our own chances and decisions so it doesn’t really matter what your dad did. He had to make his own decisions and his options at the time were very different from today.

You are what you are and I am what I am.