Entertain with Levity, Edify with Wisdom

To the Editor: 
Most fathers and grandfathers try in their own way to establish wholesome communications with their children and grandchildren.  I have chosen the Op-ed route since 1970 to espouse what I hold to be worth sharing.
On the home front, I clown around, making humor and levity the key lubricants of our extended clan. In so doing, there is the distinct risk that true emotions, feelings, and deeply-held tenets go unexpressed.  Even among my acquaintances and friends I have fallen into the habit of being somewhat of a frustrated stand-up comic. 
As a teacher in the classroom, my seasoned sense of humor and timing saved my butt in handling discipline problems which could have escalated and demanded supervisory action, but they didn’t escalate because of a God-given knack of defusing crisis with wit.
I have perused recent Op-ed pieces of mine.  Their content stems from the heart. I have tried to show my own progeny that one’s education is second only to one’s health and character.  There is usually a ring of optimism.  Optimism that little in life is immutable. 
Change is possible only when honest introspection discovers areas which need improvement.
Many pieces discuss the prime importance of family.  No one can truly be sincere or caring if he or she allows family ties to crumble without any concerted effort to keep those ties viable. When charity, forgiveness, and attention are given to family, altruism characterizes our contacts with each other. It usually begins with family first.
I resort to clever devices to make sure that what I write is read by them. Nothing is foisted upon them. As long as I hold the patriarchal role, I will continue to entertain them with levity, but more importantly, edify them with what accrued wisdom and insights my path has provided.