This is an I-Heart podcast.

This is Lee Habib, and this is Our American Stories, the show where America is the star and the American people. And to hear the

podcast version of the show, subscribe on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcasts.

And now we hear from one of our regular contributors, Paul Kotz, who gives a tribute to his father

and a brief history of American author Jack Kerouac.

Here's Paul.

I was listening to an interview on the radio discussing the need for the presence of fathers and dads in kids' lives.

I think back to my own dad, who taught me many aspects of navigating life's daily concerns,

shared his own anecdotes of wisdom, and challenged me to be better.

If he heard someone else tell him I was a good man or that I possessed a certain

trait, he would often tell me, as one example, so-and-so told me you're a very fine teacher.

Well, direct praise was not as common in my own childhood at home until I later became a man and my father was

facing his own death due to a prolonged illness. At the time in the late 90s, I asked for some

feedback on an incomplete dissertation, dealing with learning styles and aptitude. He said,

You write like Jack Kerouac.

Well, on the road,

one of Kerouac's finest works

possessed this kind of spontaneity

that was valued by many.

Kerouac is generally considered

to be the father of the beat movement,

although he actively disliked such labels.

...