This Sunday is Father’s Day.

Did you know that this special day set aside to honor fathers is celebrated in 55 countries?

The first observance of the day is believed to have been in 1910. Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Wash., got the idea after listening to a sermon at Spokane’s Central Methodist Episcopal Church, according to Wikipedia.

She wanted to honor her own dad, William Smart.

It took a while for it to become an offi cial holiday. “Where Mother’s Day was met with enthusiasm, Father’s Day was often met with laughter, “ according to Wikipedia.

Congress resisted the official designation for decades. Finally, in 1966, President Lyndon Johnson issued the first presidential proclamation in connection with the matter.

In 1972 President Richard Nixon signed the present law designating Father’s Day.

Mother’s Day, incidentally, can trace its origins back to ancient Rome.

Taking the liberty to speak for those whose father has died, I urge those of you who still have a father, take a minute out of your busy schedule to chat with him.

I know I would give a lot to be able to have a five-minute conversation with my dad. All the old stories are true. The older I got, the smarter he got. In fact, looking back, he miraculously has kept on “learning” even after his death.

I suspect a number of us have a list of questions we’d like to ask our dads. Hey, if he is still alive, ask those questions now.

You may want to know something trivial about Aunt Suzy. You may want to know what he would do if faced with a certain situation you are dealing with.

You may just want to tell him you love him.

For some of us, it’s too late.

Reprint from The Democrat of Senatobia, Miss.