1 of 1

Don Otis is the president of Veritas Communications, a publicity agency based in Cañon City, Colorado. He started out as a radio talk show host, and then became co-founder and manager for the Voice of Hope Radio Network and Middle East Television. Later, while based in Idaho, he was associate producer for more than 200 TV programs.

Don has worked as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist with boys and families. His three sons are grown.

The wrestling matches in my household just happened. But these testosterone-filled romps on our living room floor—sometimes playful, sometimes intense—became a custom.

As the father of three boys, I was seriously outnumbered and had to watch my back. The sweat dripping from our foreheads or soaking through our shirts reminded us it was purely physical—strength on strength. There were arm-wrestling matches, headlocks, tickling, and plenty of grunting.

Each son developed a different strategy. My eldest, Justin, was the biggest, and eventually could annihilate me in both arm-wrestling and wrestling. My second son, Curran, handicapped by a muscle weakness in his legs, was hardest on me—giving me a good head butt on occasion. Landon used a hit-and-run tactic. He'd wait until I was on the ground with Curran or Justin, and then I'd feel his foot in my back or a tug to my hair.

A boy needs to test his strength, and there's no one better to do this with than his own dad.

Adapted from Whisker Rubs (AMG Publishers, 2007) by permission.

Copyright © 2009 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

 1 of 1

share this page

Prayer for the Week

Help me, Lord, to model a true masculinity that spurs the young on to achieve without making my loving acceptance of them conditional.

				Try an Issue of Men of Integrity Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Men of Integrity coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive five more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Men of Integrity as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletter Sign up for the Men of Integrity Newsletter (All fields required)    RSS Feed   RSS Help