Not Just Another Father's Day Story

This one is for the books of amazing stories, but Mark Garrett, 52, of Dallas, Texas and his son, Dan Johnson, 24, of Camarillo, California (real names withheld for privacy) never believed until it happened to them: fate plays tricks; destiny finds one when he least expects it. And sometimes, all it takes is but a little smiley.

For 24 years, Dan Johnson knew that he was raised by a surrogate father, Daniel; in fact, he was named after him. His mother, Laura, was already 4 months on the family way when she broke up with Dan’s biological father. Daniel Johnson, a longtime neighbor and officemate came into Laura’s life at an opportune time, when Dan was barely a month-old. The next two decades in young Dan’s life silently stood witness to a childhood that was basked in love and security, yet there was a nagging desire in Dan’s heart to find, and come face to face with the father he lost, long before he was born. Dan knew his name, but never had a clue where to find him; he could be dead, too.

Mark took a 2-day leave of absence from work due to colds, and with time in his hands, he sat before his computer and started to read through his inbox for new emails, which he had not read due to time constraints. His real estate business, just like everyone else’s, demands more of his focus today than it did in the past years, and the past three weeks proved hectic, he barely had a chance to open his mailbox.

And there it was. Mark could have easily dismissed it as spam, but something tugged at his heart when he saw the image emblazoned on the email, and the subject line, which read: “Just shooting at the dark…could you be my father?”

There was nothing much in the email, but this Father’s Day smiley (see image above).

Dan could not believe his eyes when he received a reply in his inbox with contact numbers of a possible father. He sent out random emails and phone calls to all the “Mark Garretts” he found on white pages and people search directories; sometimes just trying out some name-combinations as possible email accounts, fervently hoping that a match can be found. He has downloaded zaazu’s smileys on his desktop, which always come handy when he sends out emails to friends, and sending Zaazu’s Father’s Day emoticon while he was in search of his father, seemed the perfect thing to do. It proved it was.

Mark and Dan had a blast last year when they celebrated Father’s Day, the first time. This year, they plan to go to Disneyland; at 24, Dan believes it is never too late for him to experience childhood, the way it should, under the watchful and caring eyes of his father, Mark.

Happy Father’s Day!