Once when we were children, my brother and I decided to take our wagon for a ride down the steepest hill in our neighborhood. Knowing perfectly well that the ride was foolish and dangerous, and that our parents would never allow us permission to do it, we didn’t ask. We just did it.

A few days later, our dad found out about our ride, and called us in. Although he was furious with us, he never lost his temper. He simply and quietly delivered his sentence: My brother and I lost some very important privileges, not for a week, not for a month, but for the entire summer. When we protested the harshness of the punishment, dad told us that what we’d done was foolish, and that we needed to learn to never, ever, do it again.

My dad did not possess the wisdom of Solomon, but he loved his kids and did the best he could. I’ve been thinking about him a lot recently while reading about the Penn State scandal, and particularly about those fans — now including the governor — who still are protesting the sanctions the NCAA levied against the school. I’ve wondered what dad would’ve thought about those sanctions.

You see, my dad was a big fan of Penn State football. He idolized Joe Paterno. Dad loved his kids and did the best he could.

And I think he’d have been OK with the sanctions.

Carl Schultz

Johnstown