This past weekend’s Father’s Day reminds us of the important role fathers play in the lives of their children.
Artist and businessman Cbabi Bayoc is the father behind 365 Days With Dad. It’s a project he started in 2012 with the goal of painting one portrait or narrative a day which depicts African American fathers interacting with their children in a positive light.
Originally from O’Fallon, Illinois, Bayoc began the project because creating art is his livelihood, but over the course of a year it morphed into a means of preserving memories and encouraging parents to be their best selves when with their kids.
Bayoc has 87 paintings remaining and he hopes to finish this summer.
Much of Bayoc’s work is displayed at Sweet Art, a bakeshop, café, and gallery in south St. Louis that he and his wife own and operate.
As part of this segment we asked you, our listeners and readers, as well as people who have previously been a guest on St. Louis on the Air to share with us the best piece of advice their father gave them.
We heard contributions from Mayor Francis Slay, former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, arts patron and philanthropist Emily Pulitzer, and jazz trumpeter and composer Terence Blanchard.
Listener contributions:
- Treat everyone with respect and courtesy. Go out of your way to help everyone out without expecting something in return. Not only will it make you a nicer person but you never know when you can use a friend.
- Everyone knows to go the extra mile for a CEO or authority figure. But it is the janitors that will help you when you are locked out of the building or the secretary that will help you get access to the CEO. By respecting everyone you meet along the way you will make friends with a range of people and you will be a better person for it.
- Enjoy the small things in life… the moments in between the big stuff. Playing catch in the summer in the front yard, dad teaching me to drive and practicing parallel parking again and again.
- He gave me this advice during the father daughter dance at my wedding and it's advice I try to remember every day.
- The only way to achieve success is through dedication and hard work.
- Be a defensive driver.
- Just because you can see great as you drive at dusk without your headlights on, you turn your headlights on so that OTHER drivers can see YOU.
- Always keep an air compressor in the trunk of your car. Even though that sounds very superficial and mundane, it serves as a reminder to me that a little preparation and self-sufficiency can save you a lot of frustration and anger.
- Don't ever get old.
- Don't put anything on the internet that you wouldn't want to see on a billboard.
- “If you don't laugh, you'll cry." Dad was right - it's so much better for your spirit to embrace the absurdity.
- "Measure twice, cut once" – it applies to much more than just do-it-yourself projects.
- My dad would always say: "A humble servant is always loved by a wicked ruler." The emphasis was on the servant not the ruler.
- Never let other people know what bothers/frustrates you! Always pay attention to what bothers/frustrates others!
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