“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
That one came from Fritz. He texted me Tuesday night:
“Hey dad, I got a chalkboard quote idea.”
He saw it flash across the screen after the Super Bowl halftime show. Bad Bunny, he said. A newer artist. “Ask Hazel who he is.”
Then he followed it with Dr. King: “Hate cannot drive out hate. Only love can do that.”
I asked him if he thought it was true. “Most definitely,” he said.
Me too.
We sealed the text the way we always do with an aohm from Fritz followed by an AOMH from me. It means "All of my heart," and we have been using that since day one.
Pizza confirmed for Wednesday night dinner at the end of the text.
Fritz is my middle child. He was given that role in life when his sister showed up and made him both a little brother and a big brother. He became The Glue, a tricky assignment for anyone. He handles it without complaint and performs it flawlessly.
Fritz keeps things together between George and Hazel. He keeps the temperature down. He keeps the rhythm steady.
Frederick Edward Shepley.
Named for his great uncle Frederick Bergmann and Joseph for his Grampa Donald Joseph. We call him Fritz and "The Glue."
He is a witty little jagoff with strong math skills and two roads in front of him, engineering school or the union hall. Either way, he will wire something important. Buildings or bridges or systems or maybe even people.
But before all that, he still is finding his voice and balance. Figuring out who he is separate from the role life handed him at a young age.
I quoted Bad Bunny...
... Because I do not care where the words come from, halftime stage or a pulpit. As long as they point Fritz toward more love than hate. Less grief and aggravation and more astonishment and gusto.
If that’s the path he walks, I will take it.
All of my heart Freddie...
