Sunday, October 30, 2011

Linked vignettes

 My dad is the strongest man ever.  He is a guy who, not even kidding, drives down the road with a drill bit drilling out his tooth.  He is a Master Guide and looks and smells like a bear.  It is gross really but for some weird reason I have always looked up to him.  Even though I shouldn’t because he was a asshole to me as a child.  My dad is someone you would never expect to cry.  Even when he broke his neck and after a year went to the hospital it never even made his eyes water.
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I received a call from him letting me and my brothers know his father was dying of a failing liver.  I wasn’t surprised because he drank brandy his whole life.  Smoked and shot pool as well.   My grandfather was a great guy.  He helped my Mom when my dad abandoned us.  He started color television for channel four Boston.  He was the only one to service color television in Maine for years.  This was pretty cool.
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My Dad some what followed in his foot steps and we all did to.  All of us brothers are electricians.  My grandfather was the best pool player.  As I said, he drinks, smoked and shot pool his whole life.  The odds of me trying to beat him were slim to none.   That chance came after that phone call. We went down to see him in MA.  We stayed at my grandfathers house with my Dad until the day he past away.
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 As we were at the funeral and people were crowded in the little old memorial home I witnessed something, besides the passing of my grandfather, that brought a tear to my eye.  It scared me and made me so worried.  It was my Dad crying.  The thought of that happening was laughable.  My Dad cry, “Yeah right” I always thought.  I guess we all have something that hurts us and for my Dad it was something mentally rather then physically.

1 comment:

  1. The first two sentences of vignette 3 ought to be the last two sentences of vignette 2--otherwise vignette 3 does a 180 that can't be justified.

    That minor criticism aside, you do a nice job here creating a portrait, setting up and resolving a 'problem' (tears, weakness, strength), offering some family history and family dynamics--you really do pack a lot in!

    ReplyDelete