Slicing Through the Nonsense Clutter

More often than not one hears only silliness and the hyped fantasy daddyhood. For example, there is the "revelation" that celeb ditz Jessica Simpson has decided Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo is her FBD (future baby's daddy).

Still, it is important to remember that sometimes the drama of fatherhood slices through the nonsense clutter of our world, breaks your heart. One case of fiction to find has been celebrated, with honors sent to Benjamin Percy's story of sons without fathers, "Refresh, Refresh." The tale will be read aloud and broadcast Sunday, Sept. 7, as part of the Selected Shorts series in a program dealing with war.

Other times, the facts of being a dad are so painful that the world would be a better place if only the facts were fiction. Such is the story of Rafael Sanz, who had to make the only choice he was given, to take his son off life support. It was eight days after his seven-month pregnant wife was knocked to her death under an oncoming bus by an outlaw driver. Delivered prematurely from his deceased mom, Sean Michael Justin Sanz struggled for life for those eight days, but his was not to be. Nor the dreams — the fantasies — of his father.