Dad

[Jennifer Peters]

Gemini comes in quietly, taking her seat in a quiet corner. She takes a
pile of correspondence out of her bag, aimlessly sorting through it
without really looking. There are some thick letters, greeting cards, a
few bills.

"My father passed away. I've got letters from people, remembering him.
I've got greeting cards, mostly trite, some not so. I've had phone
calls, asking how I am, how is my mom."

Gemini stops and stacks it all up again.

"My parents moved to the next town down the road a couple of years ago,
so they could be nearby and spend more time with their grandkids. The
church here accepted them right away. The consensus seems to be that
they were never strangers here.

"As hard as it was this past month, seeing Dad fading away, seeing Mom
go through it with him, I'm glad he was here for awhile. I'm missing
him, though.

Gemini

[Diana]

Post by Jennifer Peters
Gemini comes in quietly, taking her seat in a quiet corner. She takes a
pile of correspondence out of her bag, aimlessly sorting through it
without really looking. There are some thick letters, greeting cards, a
few bills.
"My father passed away. I've got letters from people, remembering him.
I've got greeting cards, mostly trite, some not so. I've had phone
calls, asking how I am, how is my mom."
Gemini stops and stacks it all up again.
"My parents moved to the next town down the road a couple of years ago,
so they could be nearby and spend more time with their grandkids. The
church here accepted them right away. The consensus seems to be that
they were never strangers here.
"As hard as it was this past month, seeing Dad fading away, seeing Mom
go through it with him, I'm glad he was here for awhile. I'm missing
him, though.
Gemini

I'm very sorry, Gemini. There's often a special closeness between daughters
and dads...I miss my dad, too. Wishing you and your family strength and
peace, and of course wonderful memories that will warm your hearts and
eventually replace the grieving with smiles and laughter. And I'm glad he's
not sick anymore.

[Jennifer Peters]

Post by Diana

Post by Jennifer Peters
Gemini

I'm very sorry, Gemini. There's often a special closeness between daughters
and dads...I miss my dad, too. Wishing you and your family strength and
peace, and of course wonderful memories that will warm your hearts and
eventually replace the grieving with smiles and laughter. And I'm glad he's
not sick anymore.

The thing lately is jokes and such that I hear, and want to tell Dad.
Silly things off Car Talk or Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Things that go
'round the internet, like the Unitarian Jihad. We used to share those
things. Sending them along to my brother isn't the same, and not just
because he's probably already seen them.

Dad and I also shared a fondness for blues and folk rock. I like
electric blues more than he did. I gave him an autographed Jim Byrnes
CD. (It'll probably be mine again, since my mom is more of a Judy
Garland fan.)

Gemini

[Diana]

Post by Jennifer Peters
The thing lately is jokes and such that I hear, and want to tell Dad.
Silly things off Car Talk or Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Things that go
'round the internet, like the Unitarian Jihad. We used to share those
things. Sending them along to my brother isn't the same, and not just
because he's probably already seen them.
Dad and I also shared a fondness for blues and folk rock. I like
electric blues more than he did. I gave him an autographed Jim Byrnes
CD. (It'll probably be mine again, since my mom is more of a Judy
Garland fan.)
Gemini

Yeah, I sure know what you mean. No doubt there are lots of things that you
share and have in common with the other special people in your life, but
they aren't the "inside jokes" and such that passed between you and your
dad. The two of you had a tiny piece of the world to yourselves -- a way of
understanding and communicating certain things that nobody else was quite
"in on" in exactly the same way. Even though you'll remain the repository
of all that the two of you mutually appreciated, and can pass it on, it will
be different when shared with different people. And the hard truth is that
there will always be some things that can't really be shared with anyone
else. They just won't "get" them quite the way he did. A relationship
like that has a unique pattern, like a snowflake...

[Jennifer Peters]

Post by Diana

Post by Jennifer Peters
The thing lately is jokes and such that I hear, and want to tell Dad.
Silly things off Car Talk or Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Things that go
'round the internet, like the Unitarian Jihad. We used to share those
things. Sending them along to my brother isn't the same, and not just
because he's probably already seen them.
Dad and I also shared a fondness for blues and folk rock. I like
electric blues more than he did. I gave him an autographed Jim Byrnes
CD. (It'll probably be mine again, since my mom is more of a Judy
Garland fan.)
Gemini

Yeah, I sure know what you mean. No doubt there are lots of things that you
share and have in common with the other special people in your life, but
they aren't the "inside jokes" and such that passed between you and your
dad. The two of you had a tiny piece of the world to yourselves -- a way of
understanding and communicating certain things that nobody else was quite
"in on" in exactly the same way. Even though you'll remain the repository
of all that the two of you mutually appreciated, and can pass it on, it will
be different when shared with different people. And the hard truth is that
there will always be some things that can't really be shared with anyone
else. They just won't "get" them quite the way he did. A relationship
like that has a unique pattern, like a snowflake...

All very true.

Folks say it gets easier with time, and that's true, too.

Yet, every so often, something knocks me back again. His voice on the
answering machine. I have to brace for it. Sometimes I hang up before
the machine can kick in. Or, when Mom paid the rent. (They're renting
from me for what I'm paying.) Dad's name was always on the check.

Gemini

[Daniel R. Reitman]

On Mon, 06 Jun 2005 20:34:25 -0400, Jennifer Peters

Post by Jennifer Peters
Gemini comes in quietly, taking her seat in a quiet corner. She takes a
pile of correspondence out of her bag, aimlessly sorting through it
without really looking. There are some thick letters, greeting cards, a
few bills.
"My father passed away. I've got letters from people, remembering him.
I've got greeting cards, mostly trite, some not so. I've had phone
calls, asking how I am, how is my mom."
. . . .

Daniel puts down his tea. "My sympathies."

Dan, ad nauseam

[Jennifer Peters]

Post by Jennifer Peters
"As hard as it was this past month, seeing Dad fading away, seeing Mom
go through it with him, I'm glad he was here for awhile. I'm missing
him, though.

Gemini pins a note on the board:

Quotes from my dad:

Upon hearing that his younger brother was driving in from out of state
to see him during his last few weeks: "I'll have to hurry up and
deteriorate, so he'll be properly impressed."

His description of some politicians - "He's an honest conservative.
He's not corrupt. His intentions are sincere. He's just wrong about
almost everything."

[Diana]

Post by Jennifer Peters
Upon hearing that his younger brother was driving in from out of state
to see him during his last few weeks: "I'll have to hurry up and
deteriorate, so he'll be properly impressed."
His description of some politicians - "He's an honest conservative.
He's not corrupt. His intentions are sincere. He's just wrong about
almost everything."

:) I would have liked your dad.