A Note to Future Me...for Father's Day

In a letter to his future self, UT Press sales representative C. J. Hoyt reveals what really makes a successful Father's Day gift—a great book! 

Hey Buddy,

Remember all those tacky gifts we bought Dad for Father's Day? The fancy dress socks. The novelty ties. That one time we gave him Stetson cologne for some reason or another. Well, that's why I'm writing you this letter. I'm guessing we have ourselves a mess of kids by now and we need to set the bar a little higher. We don't want to end up with too many socks in the drawer and smelling like a Sunday at Golden Corral on "our" Father's Day, do we? Heavens to Betsy, no! So, pay close attention.

1. First things first. Breakfast in bed. That's a given.

2. Let's face it, Future Me. We just married a vegetarian, so our barbecue intake is going to be next to nil. The best we can hope for are books with plenty of pictures.

Buy Barbecue Crossroads: Notes & Recipes from a Southern Odyssey

Buy The Salt Lick Cookbook: A Story of Land, Family, and Love

3. By the time you read this letter, I'm guessing we've sat through roughly 150 episodes of Gilmore Girls and now it's time for a detox. Maybe this Father's Day we can sit back and relax to our favorite Western miniseries Lonesome Dove. Then again, we probably don't want to be crying in front of the kids when Deets dies, so I guess we'll just have to settle for the next best thing.

Buy A Book of Photographs from Lonesome Dove

Buy A Book on the Making of Lonesome Dove

4. Even if they do manage to get a handle on this whole global warming thing in the future, Texas will still be one hot tamale come this time of year. How about we send the kids out on the front porch to hand-crank some ice cream while we make ourselves an ice cold margarita or three and toast to a Father's Day well done?

Buy ¡Viva Tequila!: Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures

5. If all else fails, ask for a hoverboard. And if those haven't been invented yet, well, I see no reason in living that long anyways.

Sincerely,

Christopher J. Hoyt