Sometimes We Feel for the Fatherless Child

Good news for one man is probably bad news for one child. North Carolinian Charles Moody was notified that he had passed (i.e., flunked, in his case) the paternity test and was "99.9 percent" likely to be the father of an old girlfriend's child. The actual results, included with the letter, indicated he was not the father; a bureaucratic button pusher had pushed the wrong button.

However, at least from the conscientiousness with which he went about taking the test and responding to his letter, it is impossible not to think the fatherless child would have been the much better for Mr. Moody's influence. Yes, there are the studies that kids who don't know fathers — 25 percent of Walesians, for example — grow up with a leg down. And it is true that too much dad — as in the tween-porn pic, "17 Again" about a dad who is suddenly very much in his kids' space — is truly, 2mchdd.

Moody, at least from the brief description, seems like a man who keeps his distance but handles his responsibilities. At least one kid could really and truly use that.