Day By Day© by Chris Muir.Wednesday, July 08, 2009
My father died twenty years ago today. I still remember what I was doing when the telephone rang. I remember the ride to Mom and Dad's house, wondering if the kids were all right. See, the kids were spending a week with the folks that started on the fourth of July, so they were there when Dad had his heart attack.
I remember Mom, clear as day, sitting in her chair, looking for all the world like she was lost. We were all around her, probably smothering her a bit, trying to comfort her. I remember getting into an argument with my sister over nothing. But I couldn't cry.
I remember the funeral. Bro. Vandergraph said some beautiful things about Dad, but he was as much one of us kids as we were. I can't remember how many times he'd come over for dinner or just to visit. He told us all how much Dad loved us. I still couldn't cry.
Now I can cry, and frequently do. When I see a child playing ball with her dad, or see someone fishing, or just think about him and his gentle nature, I cry. Yet I'm so glad he's not here today. To see what has become of the country for which he fought, commanding a tank during the Battle of the Bulge, working himself half to death for a company that closed in his 40th year of service, then moving to the country to finish his life in peace and solitude. He would not want anyone to see how much things bothered him, but I do think he would be hard pressed to hide it now. This nation has changed so much just in the last 20 years. I can only hope it reverses the trend in the next 20. My kids and grandkids deserve better.
Dad's been gone twenty years now, Mom's been gone for ten. I miss them so much.
I remember Mom, clear as day, sitting in her chair, looking for all the world like she was lost. We were all around her, probably smothering her a bit, trying to comfort her. I remember getting into an argument with my sister over nothing. But I couldn't cry.
I remember the funeral. Bro. Vandergraph said some beautiful things about Dad, but he was as much one of us kids as we were. I can't remember how many times he'd come over for dinner or just to visit. He told us all how much Dad loved us. I still couldn't cry.
Now I can cry, and frequently do. When I see a child playing ball with her dad, or see someone fishing, or just think about him and his gentle nature, I cry. Yet I'm so glad he's not here today. To see what has become of the country for which he fought, commanding a tank during the Battle of the Bulge, working himself half to death for a company that closed in his 40th year of service, then moving to the country to finish his life in peace and solitude. He would not want anyone to see how much things bothered him, but I do think he would be hard pressed to hide it now. This nation has changed so much just in the last 20 years. I can only hope it reverses the trend in the next 20. My kids and grandkids deserve better.
Dad's been gone twenty years now, Mom's been gone for ten. I miss them so much.
Comments:
Thank you for this. I, too, could not cry when each of my parents died (20 years ago for Dad, 6 for Mom). But, like you, I do now. AND, I feel so empty and sorry for the sacrifices the two of them made to insure that the America they loved was here for me when I grew up. Small farm boy with claustrophobia served his country for nearly 30 years and through three wars (starting at age 16 in WWII) with submarine duty and faithful wife who supported his sacrifice and waited and prayed for months at a time for his return - all to insure liberty for US, only to have it all squandered by the greedy, the power hungry and the soul-sellers. SHAME!
Post a Comment
