I know Father's Day was last weekend and all, but this weekend I'm making an overdue visit to the parental units, so this is where my thoughts still are.

Dad sang a lot of songs to us as we were growing up, accompanied by his trusty ukulele. His repertoire was mostly traditional folk songs like "The Ballad of the Boll Weevil" and "Save the Bones for Henry Jones" (cuz Henry don't eat no meat.) He never sang the song below, and never to my memory uttered the words of the refrain.

But that message was damn sure communicated to us somehow.

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Angie McBrayer, ex-wife of James Aaron McBrayer, leans her head on her son Sam McBrayer as she and her three children and two grandchildren (from left) Jackson McBrayer, 3, Piper Jae McBrayer, 7, Katy Isaza, and Jordan McBrayer, visit the grave of James McBrayer, Thursday, November 20, 2025, in Tifton. He died after being restrained by Tift County sheriff's deputies on April 24, 2019. His ex-wife witnessed the arrest and said she thought the deputies were being rough but did not imagine that McBrayer would die. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC