We realize that we have been a little tough on fathers. In the past few episodes, we explored how their traumas can be passed on to us, how we can meet their aggression with boundaries, and how we can break free from it all. This episode is about both son and father hanging their archetypes by the door and engaging in a heartwarming conversation that takes us on their journey from parent and child, to friend and comrade.

This episode is about closing the circle and healing the relationship by opening a dialogue. This episode is about finding common ground, it is about the freedom of compassion towards those we’ve othered, and it is about the reward of coming back into the relationship from a healthy place of self-awareness and an intention of peace.

My outrageous and anonymous friend from the last episode shared his story about leaving home and what it meant to confront his father in conflict. Today’s episode is about the son’s return home, and to me represents the light at the end of the tunnel for this critical relationship in our lives.

I have to confess, I am both in awe and a little jealous of my friend, brother, and Co-Host Paul Kist, for his courage to go where very few men have gone before, and invite his father to appear as a guest on our show.

Dr. George Kist, shares his story about leaving Alexandria, Egypt, and making it in Long Island, New York, where Paul was born. Together they cover the hardship of immigration, they take us back to Woodstock and the music of the 60s and 70s, and how they created a friendship by traveling and being in awe of the world together.

In the end, George leaves us with some common sense and some clear value propositions for healing and working on the relationship between father and son.

“The advice is not just for the sons but to the fathers too. It takes both of them to appreciate each other more, and if that is difficult, then that they should seek help or professional advice. That relationship is too valuable to be wasted. It is important for the son’s development, the father’s sanity, and the general peace of the whole family.”

My Confession

I have to admit something to you guys, Paul and I discussed both of us interviewing our dads, and I chickened out. I simply did not feel that I had the gumption to do it, and the thought of it was terrifying. Paul did though, and what came out is an episode that inspires me and every man in the world, to think of the possibilities that lie in our relationships. No matter how difficult and uncomfortable they can be.

What I loved the most about this episode is the twist that happens at the end, where Paul starts makes some profound realizations about himself, his father, and the parallels between them.

Here is another quote from the episode that Paul said to his dad:

“I didn’t know what it would be like to travel with you and I’ve come to realize that here’s a man who has the same adventurous spirit that I do, and suddenly I saw where I got it from.”

Enjoy and let us know what you think!

This concludes our commentary on Chapter 10 | Operation Exodus. Check out the chapter here:

In Search of Gumption

Chapter 10. Operation Exodus

A few months later, a hot sticky November day in Mombasa witnessed Jay triumphantly driving his car out of the Akasha Transport Company. He remembers it as the moment that changed him forever. There were two things that Jay did not know yet. The first was that his employer - and the owner of the transport company- Ibrahim Akasha, was about to become Keny…

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2 years ago · Omar Shaker

We are coming close to the end of this first Season of the Gumpast, Ladies, and Gentlemen!

Get ready for a memorable Season Finale up next, where we will leave you with a couple of commentary posts and one final episode about Chapter 11 | Fulfillment. We will tackle the sources of our biases, what it means to be fulfilled in life and we’ll have a new and very special guest for Episode 11.

Just getting started with us and want to start reading the novel from the start?

Start at Chapter 1:

In Search of Gumption

Chapter 1. Prologue

“ I stared into its determined eyes, and it stared right back at me. There it stood, resiliently in my path, with horns glistening and nose fuming. Its ears twisted slowly, as though they were sonars trying to locate where I stood, and how to best annihilate me. I had never seen a bull before, but here I was in a western standoff with the 2000-pound bea…

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2 years ago · 2 likes · 7 comments · Omar Shaker