A while ago, I started using my own statistical program. It allows me to have an invisible code on my sites which gives me stats on who visits. Yes, I know who reads and who doesn’t. The best part of my stats program is that it allows me to see what people have typed in search engines like Google and Yahoo to reach my site.
Sometimes my stats are humorous: some searches include, “Gray Davis Bengal Tiger,” (not likely) “Should I have plastic surgery,” (if you’re asking, yes) and “dixie cups,” (they’re tiny little cups — get a real glass).
All kidding aside, however, the majority of people hitting my site have searched for “Fatherless Daughters,” or “Fatherless Black Children.”
I wrote a blog on this topic last month when I found out my father was dead. At the time I came across a two year old article about a man who died on a city bus. To update those who are interested, I found out two weeks ago that the man was my father. I requested a death certificate from the state of New York and confirmed that the dying man on the bus had been my father. At the time I received the death certificate, I hadn’t seen my father for almost twenty years.
Sadly, it appears that many children are searching for information about how to cope with life without fathers. I too have sought out answers about how fatherlessness effects me and other children like me, but I didn’t really find any satisfactory answers. Truthfully, there may be no adequate answers for us fatherless children. As Kim pointed out in her comment on that blog — in one way or another, many of us have experienced this phenomenon. Like many other life experiences, it seems best to pick up the pieces and move on the best we can.
I didn’t provide any answers on my blog, but hope that the folks searching find whatever solace they can.