Friday, 21 September 2007

My Daddy — a gentle soul


I'll never forget you, Daddy.

My daddy had the gentlest soul. He made friends with the insects that invaded his garage.

“Bumble Boy” was a truly unintelligent bumble bee who kept flying into the garage whenever the door was open; my daddy would shoo him out, worrying that Bumble Boy would be trapped in the garage overnight.

“Arachne” was the spider who skillfully wove a beautiful web -- inside the garage, where she was likely to starve. I remember my daddy scuffing through the long grass at sunset to stir up the moths and other insects hiding there. He would catch them, carry them to the garage, and throw them, like sacrifices, into Arachne’s web.

One time, two of our housecats caught a bunny; my daddy rescued the bunny, drove far out into the countryside, and let the bunny go where he would not be worried by cats.

Surprisingly, my daddy was not much of a “pet” person. When my sister and I pleaded to be allowed to keep the orange kitty who arrived in a shoebox on our doorstep, he said no til it was pointed out it was late and the kitty would be left outside overnight. Not surprisingly, this kitty cleverly attached himself to my daddy and became “his” special kitty, walking up his body each morning to peek into his eyes to see if he was awake.

I cannot imagine ever forgetting these details about my daddy — but I am young, and memories get lost. I will journal about my recollections, hoping that while something is lost, much is gained just in remembering.

2 comments:

Marva Plummer-Bruno said...

Nona - I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. It's so hard to lose a parent. I lost my dad 18 yrs ago and it was so painful. Your memories are wonderful and it was so touching to read this. Marva

Anonymous said...

Nona, I'm NOT young, and my dad died thirty years ago now...and I've not forgotten. When you have wonderful memories like you do, they will stay with you, they'll stay close, they'll surface when you need them.

I'm so sorry you've lost such a special man, but something of him will always be close to you.