"Papa Was A Rolling Stone"

“Papa was a rolling stone. ”I heard this song many times.  I danced to it and joked about it.  But when you think about it, there is absolutely nothing to laugh at.  This song speaks of a man who was unfaithful, irresponsible, and absent from his family.  It’s amazing to me that two men wrote this song, Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong, and I wonder how this song paralleled their own lives.  Did they see this behavior in their community, or did they experience it themselves?

            Can we avoid this kind of situation?  I think we can; however, it takes a lot of work.  We have to set the kinds of standards and requirements for ourselves as described in Steve Harvey’s book,  “Think Like A Man Act Like a Lady.”

Find out how the man or woman in your life feels about infidelity.  Listen to what he or she says and what he or she doesn’t say.  Find out if you have the same value system.  Communicate!  Play the song and let it lead into a conversation about infidelity responsibility.  That’s a start…  Listen carefully!

I believe that in order to have strong communities, we need fewer fathers who are rolling stones.