Yesterday I spoke with the Orthodontist that treats my family, in fact he also treats my first two sons, which I am not permitted to see (even though I have obtained numerous court orders for visitation, my ex continues to interfere).

The Orthodontist congratulated me on the acceptance for my  first born, on his acceptance into Stanford University. I was dumbfounded, and apparently showed no reaction.  I explained to the orthodonist that this was news to me, especially as I was not able to see my two sons for almost an entire year now.

The Orthodontist applogies, and indicated that he had no idea!  Of course not, he had only heard of the horrible person I had become because I refused to pay for a second set of braces for my out of pocket, when the Insurance company refused to pay for a second set.  (my ex-wife had already used the allowance for braces, and the insurance company did not deem this as a necessity, neither did I).

Well, becaase my ex-wife did not like my reaction, she had the Orthodontist write a letter tome imploring to me that this was a significantly cheaper option to pay for braces, because attorneys fees would be more expensive.  Well, needless to say, I went for a reduction in support, and while I did not get the full amount, for a reduction for multi-familly discount, I am happy with the lower support.

Anyway, after talking to the Orthodontist, it turns out that he knew nothing about my not being able to see my own children, nor the fact that everytime that I was able to see them, the older one would act out and make it difficult for me, and the children.

I explained to the Orthodontist that I loved my sons very much, and was not able to see them without interference in one form or another.  Not having known of my son's news must have been the icing on the cake, because after a while, we found out that we were nearly the same age, and that the priest at his church, was my neighbor growing up.

I am always hopeful that some day I will be able to reconnect with my sons, and that they will be able to understand that I was not able to see them as much as I would have liked, as well as having to make change in our society, so that Fathers really do matter. 

I am a remarried father of six children.  Four live with me, and the other two that live five blocks from me are not permitted (by their mother) to see their father.  In fact one of them has been totally alienated from me, and presents poor behavior (certainly not behavior that he would deem acceptable at his mothers) which totally disrupts our family when he is permitted to visit.

My original divorce was filed in 1993.  Since then I have had (and interviewed) several attorneys.  Most of them did not care about the results that they achieved, just that they got paid, on-time.

Recently, I interviewed two new attorneys which have supported fathers in the Pittsburgh area.  One indicated that he'd get back to me (double speak for - I don't want to go against my old cronies), the other appears to be totally different.

I am talking about Elizabeth Beroes, owner of the Beroes Law Center in Pittsburgh.  She has a very professonal staff, that has provided me with answers in a timely manner.  Elizabeth's motto for her firm is 'Compassionate Help'.  

This is rare when it comes to support for fathers, which is why I highly recommend her.  The Beroes Law Center can be reached at (412)621-6811.  If you do call her firm, please tell her that you were referred by the Fathers Rights Network.