Stan Hitchcock-View From The Front Porch-June 1, 2013

One week from today, our son Scott marries Rachel. It will be a good marriage between two fine young people, with their values firmly in place and their eyes searching out their vision of a future together.

Denise, as good Mother's do, raised a fine young man.

I, as good Father's do, taught him to fish and love music.

That's pretty much it. Denise was the one sitting up late reading him stories as he lay in bed learning about imagination. She was the one, later, sitting up late working on homework, going to teacher conferences, teaching him to seek his own conclusions, not to just accept someone else's version.

I taught him to cast into the shady water in the weedy shore line, to drop a lure around the rocks and sunken trees, to set the hook and hold on.

Denise kept working with him like a treasured piece of art that she was creating...molding and shaping her young man.

I taught him Drop D tuning on a guitar.

Then, when Scott was twelve years old, we were at the end of the service at our church one Sunday Morning, and Scott looked up at me and said, "Dad, go down with me." We walked, together, down to the Alter and Scott and I knelt down and he asked Jesus to come into his heart. I prayed, thankful for a Son of Faith, and his Mother that raised him right.

Scott is an Adjuster and Finisher at Gibson guitar, in Nashville. He also is a fine guitar player, and loves building the fine instruments that Gibson is famous for. And, by the way, he can outfish me, any day of the week.

So, at the end of next week, Scott will gather up his stuff and leave the old farm house. He will leave his Mother and Father and go to cleave to his bride, Rachel, just as God intended it to be.

Sons and daughters....the only wealth that really matters.

Stan