Today is the opening of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals play at the Cubs. This is always an exciting day for me. I love to follow baseball and I have a library of several hundred baseball books. And one of the great pleasures in life, for me, is getting up in the morning, and reading the box scores of the previous days games in the Boston Globe, while sipping the morning coffee.
To get in the mood I just watched some scenes on YouTube from the Field of Dreams movie. I watched James Earl Jones great speech about baseball and people will come. And then I watched the scene with Kevin Costner playing catch with his father. Joe Jackson tells him if you build it (the field) he will come. And of course, he meant Kevin's father. What a scene. I got moist eyes watching that. My father has been gone 35 years now. I can't play catch with him anymore. But I do think of him every day. And I carry his last drivers license in my wallet, as I have done since he died. So in a sense he is always with me!
To all the sons and daughters out there, get out there and play catch with your father and if he can't play catch, hug him and kiss him. And if he is not nearby, call him. Talk to him. Don't tweet, text or email. Before you know it, he will be walking out into the cornfield.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
SPRING IS COMING!
The sun sets one minute later on December 14
There is one minute more daylight on December 27
The first seed catalogs start arriving in the mail at the end of December
The sun rises one minute earlier on January 9
The annual baseball preview magazines hit the news stands at the end of January
Truck Day for the Red Sox equipment truck leaving for Florida is around February 8
The Kream and Kone in Dennisport Ma opens February 12
The Clam Box in Ipswich opens in February
Pitchers and catchers report around mid February
The Vernal Equinox is March 20
The frost is out of the ground by early April
Grams and Haleys open for the season
Bob Lobster opens for summer hours
The plovers arrive at the Refuge around April 1
Boats and docks start appearing along the river
The lawn is raked and debris bagged
The Landfill opens for the season
The last frost is around mid May
Cool weather crops broccoli, lettuce, peas, radishes, brussel sprouts planted
The first lawn mow in mid April
Opening Day for baseball around April 1- Every team tied for first
Warm weather crops planted around mid May- tomatoes, beans, corn, spuds
The Summer Solstice is June 21 and now Winter is coming. The cycle continues.
There is one minute more daylight on December 27
The first seed catalogs start arriving in the mail at the end of December
The sun rises one minute earlier on January 9
The annual baseball preview magazines hit the news stands at the end of January
Truck Day for the Red Sox equipment truck leaving for Florida is around February 8
The Kream and Kone in Dennisport Ma opens February 12
The Clam Box in Ipswich opens in February
Pitchers and catchers report around mid February
The Vernal Equinox is March 20
The frost is out of the ground by early April
Grams and Haleys open for the season
Bob Lobster opens for summer hours
The plovers arrive at the Refuge around April 1
Boats and docks start appearing along the river
The lawn is raked and debris bagged
The Landfill opens for the season
The last frost is around mid May
Cool weather crops broccoli, lettuce, peas, radishes, brussel sprouts planted
The first lawn mow in mid April
Opening Day for baseball around April 1- Every team tied for first
Warm weather crops planted around mid May- tomatoes, beans, corn, spuds
The Summer Solstice is June 21 and now Winter is coming. The cycle continues.
Thursday, December 11, 2014
THINGS I THINK ABOUT AT 3AM
When you get to my age, you have to get up in the middle of the night to use the facilities. For me it's usually around 3am. Often when I get back to bed I can't get to sleep right away. I don't count sheep but I think about a variety of topics. Here is a sample:
* Why does it take a knife to open a fresh loaf of bread? Are there nuclear secrets in there?
* What the heck is "breaking news"?
* Why do the real estate agents always have their pictures in the ads?
* Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?
* If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
* When you see those road signs that say "depressed storm drains" should they seek professional help?
* Are those "reduced salt" signs on the side of the road, watching their blood pressure?
* How does a 300 page book get downloaded to your Kindle in 3 seconds?
* If the Weather Channel tells you its 0 degrees outside today, and tomorrow its going to be twice as cold, how cold will
it be?
* If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?
* Why do all those cars in the tv crime shows, show up at the crime scene without a spec of dirt on them?
* Why do some bottles of water have a list of ingredients?
* Why do we have to pick up dog poop, but not horse poop?
* Why would we buy all those drugs advertised on tv, when the disclaimers and side effects are longer than the product
description?
* When a weather forecast says there is a 50% chance of rain, what does that mean? That its going to rain on one side of
the street but not the other?
* How come the Post Office has a "postage due" sticker when you mail something without enough postage, but when you
put too much postage on, there is no "refund due" sticker?
Usually after thinking about all of this, I finally nod off!
* Why does it take a knife to open a fresh loaf of bread? Are there nuclear secrets in there?
* What the heck is "breaking news"?
* Why do the real estate agents always have their pictures in the ads?
* Why does Hawaii have interstate highways?
* If the police arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?
* When you see those road signs that say "depressed storm drains" should they seek professional help?
* Are those "reduced salt" signs on the side of the road, watching their blood pressure?
* How does a 300 page book get downloaded to your Kindle in 3 seconds?
* If the Weather Channel tells you its 0 degrees outside today, and tomorrow its going to be twice as cold, how cold will
it be?
* If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?
* Why do all those cars in the tv crime shows, show up at the crime scene without a spec of dirt on them?
* Why do some bottles of water have a list of ingredients?
* Why do we have to pick up dog poop, but not horse poop?
* Why would we buy all those drugs advertised on tv, when the disclaimers and side effects are longer than the product
description?
* When a weather forecast says there is a 50% chance of rain, what does that mean? That its going to rain on one side of
the street but not the other?
* How come the Post Office has a "postage due" sticker when you mail something without enough postage, but when you
put too much postage on, there is no "refund due" sticker?
Usually after thinking about all of this, I finally nod off!
Thursday, November 20, 2014
50 YEARS AGO THIS THANKSGIVING EVE
Next Wednesday November 26 will be the 50th anniversary of my coming home for the first time from college. One of the most emotional times of my teenage years was the first year I went off to college. I didn't come home for the first time until Thanksgiving and I was pretty lonesome at school and missed my parents, my sisters and my dog Horton. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving I got a ride from Edna Barker and I had her drop me off on Sisson Road in front of the old high school, now the middle school instead of our house on South St, which was a quarter mile away. I guess I wanted to savor the moment!
I walked down the school drive, passed the old high school, recalling all the good times, and when I got to the edge of the field at the east end of our property, by the old pine tree, I whistled for Horton. I had a special whistle I always used to call him. I had told my parents I should be home around 6pm so please have Horton waiting on the back steps and I will call him from the far end of the field.
At first I didn't hear anything, but then I heard the jingle of his dog tags on his collar getting louder and louder. It was dark, and I was squinting towards the west and then I saw him. He saw me too, and started yelping away and must have jumped 3 feet into the air to greet me! He was barking away, running in circles around me, giving me kisses as I bent over to pat him.
I had tears in my eyes and could barely see. All that was missing was Tom Jones singing the Green, Green, Grass of Home, And we did have a big, old oak tree in the back yard too! We ran together to the back door, me carrying my little duffle bag, and went into the kitchen to greet everyone. Little Frannie Larkin was home!
I walked down the school drive, passed the old high school, recalling all the good times, and when I got to the edge of the field at the east end of our property, by the old pine tree, I whistled for Horton. I had a special whistle I always used to call him. I had told my parents I should be home around 6pm so please have Horton waiting on the back steps and I will call him from the far end of the field.
At first I didn't hear anything, but then I heard the jingle of his dog tags on his collar getting louder and louder. It was dark, and I was squinting towards the west and then I saw him. He saw me too, and started yelping away and must have jumped 3 feet into the air to greet me! He was barking away, running in circles around me, giving me kisses as I bent over to pat him.
I had tears in my eyes and could barely see. All that was missing was Tom Jones singing the Green, Green, Grass of Home, And we did have a big, old oak tree in the back yard too! We ran together to the back door, me carrying my little duffle bag, and went into the kitchen to greet everyone. Little Frannie Larkin was home!
Sunday, November 2, 2014
33 YEARS AGO TODAY(NYC MARATHON!)
33 years ago today, a third of a century (yikes!), I ran and completed the New York City Marathon. I had run off and on since the early 70's, but when my father died in November of 1980, I decided to train for a marathon and dedicate the race to Dad. I had run some road races and had a base already built up and I had several books and mags on running. I picked out a training routine to finish the marathon in about 4 hours. I just wanted to finish and not try to set any speed records! And over the course of a year, I followed the training routine and didn't deviate from it very much. I didn't want to get carried away and get injured.
One of my brother in laws and a nephew drove down from Topsfield, Ma. the Saturday before. We lived in Danbury, Ct at the time. I drove down to New York City with a racing buddy the week before the marathon to get our numbers and race kit. They had them available at the Post Office right next to Madison Square Garden. We got pizza the night before to get those carbo's into the body.
The next morning we got up early and drove down to Staten Island, with our neighbor, who was a great runner and had done the marathon several times. So he gave me a lot of tips, although he would finish well ahead of me. My brother in law and nephew drove back to downtown Manhattan and parked in a garage near the finish line in Central Park and began the long wait!
For the male runners, they had set up the world's largest outdoor urinal. It was a wooden trough that was tilted at a slight angle and had running water going down it. I think it ended up in one of the sewer drains. For the ladies, there was a large row of portable potties. As it got close to the starting time, I walked up to where the first time runners and top lady runners were. On the other side of the bridge, it was the top men. I didn't want to stay at the back of the crowd and take 10 minutes or so to cross the starting line, so I positioned myself near the front of the first time runners, but well back of the top ladies. I certainly did not want to interfere with them.
When the starting cannon went off, I crossed the starting line in a few seconds. It was finally here. I had trained for over a year and had thought of this moment for months. It was a clear day, temp in the high 40's and the Manhattan skyline was to my left. Fire boats were sending streams of water high into the air and helicopters were circling above. What a sight. And you read about the first mile being the toughest because its uphill on the bridge. I didn't even notice. I was so excited and plus I had trained on a lot of hills. So it wasn't any big deal.
I had on shorts, and a light sweatshirt, with no hood, my famous red winter hat and garden gloves. And in the left glove, I carried my father's last drivers license. I made sure not to go out too fast, despite all the excitement. I wanted to run about 4 hours or maybe a few minutes less. 2 weeks before when we were visiting family in Topsfield, Ma. I had gone for my longest run, 22 miles. I can still remember every mile of that training run, and occasionally drive parts of it, and think back. After that run, I showered, went to Mass, and then we drove back to Danbury. I felt good so I figured I could break 4 hours.
I ran on the left side of all the runners. I did not want to get tripped up by running in the middle of everyone. All the spectators in Brooklyn were high fiving and low fiving all of us and cheering us on. It was fantastic support. I felt great and hit the halfway mark a little less than 2 hours. I purposely was holding back and then wanted to up the tempo for the next several miles. And then as I was crossing the 59th St bridge, my right knee started hurting. What the heck was this? I had no injuries for the past year and did a conservative marathon build up. I had stretched and was as flexible as I could be. The pain got worse and worse. I tried some stretching and asked someone at an aid station what it might be, but they didn't know.
I ran, walked the rest of the way. I was in a lot of pain, but I had dedicated the race to Dad and was not about to drop out. I finished in 4 hours and 46 minutes, about 46 minutes longer than I had hoped. My brother in law was starting to get worried where I was. I told him I would probably finish in about 4 hours. Then he saw the red hat coming down the last quarter mile. When I got to Central Park South, I said the heck with it. I am going to run the last mile and change without stopping. And I did. The pain didn't get any worse.
My neighbor had finished in about 3 hours and change so they were all waiting for me. But I finished. I did it. And I pulled Dad's license out of my glove, looked down at his picture, smiled and gave him a kiss. This was for you Dad!
We all talked about the race on the ride home. My right knee ached and I took some aspirin when I got home. I remember calling my mother to tell her I did it! The next day it was back to work and I had promised everyone at the regional office in Westport, Ct. that if I finished, I would bring in donuts for everyone. So I stopped and bought 6 dozen donuts for everyone.
I went to a running doctor a few days later, and the cause of the pain was my ilio tibial band (the ITP). That's a muscle that runs from the hip down to the knee and crosses over the outside of the knee. That had tightened up and was rubbing against the bone. That's what was causing the discomfort. I had to rest the knee for several days and then do special stretching exercises for the ITB and I was ok. And for the next 30 years as long as I did the stretching I could run and do races without any problems. I went on to complete a triathlon, a 25 mile bike race and over 100 road races, most of them 5 miles or 10K's. I finished every race and never had to drop out. I stopped running 6 years ago. I figured there are only so many miles on the tires so why chance it.
So for the last 6 years, I walk, hike, bike, kayak and snowshoe in season. I have not done a century(100 miles) in bike riding so I think I will do that next year. That will complete my own personal trifecta, of completing a marathon, triathlon and a century. So as Paul Harvey said many years ago, "Now you know the rest of the story."
One of my brother in laws and a nephew drove down from Topsfield, Ma. the Saturday before. We lived in Danbury, Ct at the time. I drove down to New York City with a racing buddy the week before the marathon to get our numbers and race kit. They had them available at the Post Office right next to Madison Square Garden. We got pizza the night before to get those carbo's into the body.
The next morning we got up early and drove down to Staten Island, with our neighbor, who was a great runner and had done the marathon several times. So he gave me a lot of tips, although he would finish well ahead of me. My brother in law and nephew drove back to downtown Manhattan and parked in a garage near the finish line in Central Park and began the long wait!
For the male runners, they had set up the world's largest outdoor urinal. It was a wooden trough that was tilted at a slight angle and had running water going down it. I think it ended up in one of the sewer drains. For the ladies, there was a large row of portable potties. As it got close to the starting time, I walked up to where the first time runners and top lady runners were. On the other side of the bridge, it was the top men. I didn't want to stay at the back of the crowd and take 10 minutes or so to cross the starting line, so I positioned myself near the front of the first time runners, but well back of the top ladies. I certainly did not want to interfere with them.
When the starting cannon went off, I crossed the starting line in a few seconds. It was finally here. I had trained for over a year and had thought of this moment for months. It was a clear day, temp in the high 40's and the Manhattan skyline was to my left. Fire boats were sending streams of water high into the air and helicopters were circling above. What a sight. And you read about the first mile being the toughest because its uphill on the bridge. I didn't even notice. I was so excited and plus I had trained on a lot of hills. So it wasn't any big deal.
I had on shorts, and a light sweatshirt, with no hood, my famous red winter hat and garden gloves. And in the left glove, I carried my father's last drivers license. I made sure not to go out too fast, despite all the excitement. I wanted to run about 4 hours or maybe a few minutes less. 2 weeks before when we were visiting family in Topsfield, Ma. I had gone for my longest run, 22 miles. I can still remember every mile of that training run, and occasionally drive parts of it, and think back. After that run, I showered, went to Mass, and then we drove back to Danbury. I felt good so I figured I could break 4 hours.
I ran on the left side of all the runners. I did not want to get tripped up by running in the middle of everyone. All the spectators in Brooklyn were high fiving and low fiving all of us and cheering us on. It was fantastic support. I felt great and hit the halfway mark a little less than 2 hours. I purposely was holding back and then wanted to up the tempo for the next several miles. And then as I was crossing the 59th St bridge, my right knee started hurting. What the heck was this? I had no injuries for the past year and did a conservative marathon build up. I had stretched and was as flexible as I could be. The pain got worse and worse. I tried some stretching and asked someone at an aid station what it might be, but they didn't know.
I ran, walked the rest of the way. I was in a lot of pain, but I had dedicated the race to Dad and was not about to drop out. I finished in 4 hours and 46 minutes, about 46 minutes longer than I had hoped. My brother in law was starting to get worried where I was. I told him I would probably finish in about 4 hours. Then he saw the red hat coming down the last quarter mile. When I got to Central Park South, I said the heck with it. I am going to run the last mile and change without stopping. And I did. The pain didn't get any worse.
My neighbor had finished in about 3 hours and change so they were all waiting for me. But I finished. I did it. And I pulled Dad's license out of my glove, looked down at his picture, smiled and gave him a kiss. This was for you Dad!
We all talked about the race on the ride home. My right knee ached and I took some aspirin when I got home. I remember calling my mother to tell her I did it! The next day it was back to work and I had promised everyone at the regional office in Westport, Ct. that if I finished, I would bring in donuts for everyone. So I stopped and bought 6 dozen donuts for everyone.
I went to a running doctor a few days later, and the cause of the pain was my ilio tibial band (the ITP). That's a muscle that runs from the hip down to the knee and crosses over the outside of the knee. That had tightened up and was rubbing against the bone. That's what was causing the discomfort. I had to rest the knee for several days and then do special stretching exercises for the ITB and I was ok. And for the next 30 years as long as I did the stretching I could run and do races without any problems. I went on to complete a triathlon, a 25 mile bike race and over 100 road races, most of them 5 miles or 10K's. I finished every race and never had to drop out. I stopped running 6 years ago. I figured there are only so many miles on the tires so why chance it.
So for the last 6 years, I walk, hike, bike, kayak and snowshoe in season. I have not done a century(100 miles) in bike riding so I think I will do that next year. That will complete my own personal trifecta, of completing a marathon, triathlon and a century. So as Paul Harvey said many years ago, "Now you know the rest of the story."
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
WAR ON POVERTY
In 1964, my senior year in high school, President Johnson declared a War on Poverty. Here we are a half century later. So how are we doing?
* 1 in 5 children live in poverty
* 1 in 6 adults live in poverty
* 1.2 million students are homeless, including 100,000 athletes
* Here in Massachusetts 25% of families in the suburbs of Boston are on food stamps
* In Massachusetts last night, 2000 families spent the night in a shelter and 2000 more in a motel
* Here in Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury there are 7 soup kitchens and 5 food pantries
* In these same 3 towns there are over 200 homeless students
* Within 1 mile of my house are 3 tents with people living in them year round
I don't think the War is over. Far from it. We have a long ways to go. Eliminating poverty or significantly reducing it is a complicated process. I think one of the keys is education. We have to keep our students in school. Today 25% of high school students do not graduate or don't graduate on time. And 50% of those entering college do not graduate. What happens to all those who drop out of high school? Many will be homeless, commit crimes, turn to drugs, get pregnant and get minimum wage jobs, if that. A recent study indicated that close to 75% of all crimes are committed by high school drop outs. If we keep them in school, see them graduate, they will earn several hundred thousand dollars more over a lifetime than a drop out. So poverty goes down and so does crime. There are close to 2 million prisoners in our jails. The average cost is close to $80,000 a year per prisoner. Keep them in school and the cost to incarcerate prisoners drops significantly as well.
Short term there are many things we can do to alleviate poverty in our towns, increase awareness of those in need, and raise money and food. 6 years ago one person in Newburyport had a dream-that if every citizen just put 2 cents a day into a can, donated 2 food items a month to a food pantry and volunteered 2 hours a month, we could make a difference. A non profit was formed, made up of all volunteers, no salaries and hardly any overhead. Today over $70,000 has been raised and given out as grants and donated to the food pantries. Food drives the past 3 years have raised $19,000 worth of food that was donated to the food pantries. Over 80 businesses in the community have Pennies containers on their counters for donations, which goes to the food pantries.
If everyone just in Newburyport, Ma contributed 2 cents a day, that is over $120,000 a year. 2 food items a month is over 400,000 a year and 2 hours a month is over 400,000 a year. And this is just one town. Imagine if every one of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts did this? It wouldn't eliminate poverty but would ensure most of our citizens went to bed (somewhere) with a full stomach.
So the war is not over, there are many battles to be fought and won. Let's continue to march forth.
* 1 in 5 children live in poverty
* 1 in 6 adults live in poverty
* 1.2 million students are homeless, including 100,000 athletes
* Here in Massachusetts 25% of families in the suburbs of Boston are on food stamps
* In Massachusetts last night, 2000 families spent the night in a shelter and 2000 more in a motel
* Here in Newburyport, Salisbury and Amesbury there are 7 soup kitchens and 5 food pantries
* In these same 3 towns there are over 200 homeless students
* Within 1 mile of my house are 3 tents with people living in them year round
I don't think the War is over. Far from it. We have a long ways to go. Eliminating poverty or significantly reducing it is a complicated process. I think one of the keys is education. We have to keep our students in school. Today 25% of high school students do not graduate or don't graduate on time. And 50% of those entering college do not graduate. What happens to all those who drop out of high school? Many will be homeless, commit crimes, turn to drugs, get pregnant and get minimum wage jobs, if that. A recent study indicated that close to 75% of all crimes are committed by high school drop outs. If we keep them in school, see them graduate, they will earn several hundred thousand dollars more over a lifetime than a drop out. So poverty goes down and so does crime. There are close to 2 million prisoners in our jails. The average cost is close to $80,000 a year per prisoner. Keep them in school and the cost to incarcerate prisoners drops significantly as well.
Short term there are many things we can do to alleviate poverty in our towns, increase awareness of those in need, and raise money and food. 6 years ago one person in Newburyport had a dream-that if every citizen just put 2 cents a day into a can, donated 2 food items a month to a food pantry and volunteered 2 hours a month, we could make a difference. A non profit was formed, made up of all volunteers, no salaries and hardly any overhead. Today over $70,000 has been raised and given out as grants and donated to the food pantries. Food drives the past 3 years have raised $19,000 worth of food that was donated to the food pantries. Over 80 businesses in the community have Pennies containers on their counters for donations, which goes to the food pantries.
If everyone just in Newburyport, Ma contributed 2 cents a day, that is over $120,000 a year. 2 food items a month is over 400,000 a year and 2 hours a month is over 400,000 a year. And this is just one town. Imagine if every one of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts did this? It wouldn't eliminate poverty but would ensure most of our citizens went to bed (somewhere) with a full stomach.
So the war is not over, there are many battles to be fought and won. Let's continue to march forth.
Monday, October 20, 2014
DAD AT 100
My father would be 100 years old on November 2. He was born in 1914, just as WW1 was beginning. And died November 25, 1980, a young 66. Look at all the wars he lived through, all the inventions, all the technology advancements. Like all of us, he had his strengths and weaknesses. As I remember him on his 100th, I would rather focus on this strengths. He was a WW2 veteran, a very handsome man and in his younger days had a great physique. He was a great outdoorsman, and an excellent shot with the shotgun during Deer Week. And he was the unofficial arm wrestling champion of the Cape, besting a fisherman from Provincetown, who had arms like Popeye, at the 28 Club in Dennisport.
And Dad was a great story teller. At our annual family reunions on the Cape each summer, everyone would gather around Dad as he told family stories and history and did his famous St Patrick paper trick that no one has ever been able to figure out to this day! He knew all the family history and would tell us all about our grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. I wish I had tape recorded all that history.
As Dad got older he let himself go and gained weight and came down with Type 2 diabetes and ended up taking a shot of insulin every day. His health got worse and eventually he lost toes and then part of his foot. Complications set in and he passed on, 2 days before Thanksgiving. I still remember that entire sequence. Dad died on Tuesday, late that afternoon we are making arrangements with the funeral director, Wednesday I am picking out a casket, Thursday we have a subdued turkey dinner, Friday is the wake, Saturday is the funeral, Sunday we drove back to Connecticut, and Monday I was back at work!! I remember sitting in my office, thinking "what the heck just happened. A few days ago I had a father and now I don't"
When my mother died several years ago, we were going through her papers and found a letter I had written to her a few months after Dad died. It was full of the usual news about the kids and how work was going etc, but I closed with a few thoughts about Dad and here is what I said. They applied back then and still do today:
"I was thinking of Dad this past Wednesday, Feb 25, 3 months already since he died. Its hard to believe I don't have a father anymore. I wear his watch every day plus keep his last driver's license in my wallet and I have his army picture framed and on my bureau, plus I wear a lot of his clothes, so while he may be far away, he is still near. I hope he realized how much I loved him, thought about him, admired him and respected him, and especially for all he went through the past three years. And I hope he was proud of me and all I have accomplished and I hope I did the right things for him when we came to visit. I hope he realized how much I appreciated everything he did for me and I can't thank him enough."
Happy 100th Birthday Dad. I love you and miss you.
And Dad was a great story teller. At our annual family reunions on the Cape each summer, everyone would gather around Dad as he told family stories and history and did his famous St Patrick paper trick that no one has ever been able to figure out to this day! He knew all the family history and would tell us all about our grandparents, great grandparents, aunts and uncles. I wish I had tape recorded all that history.
As Dad got older he let himself go and gained weight and came down with Type 2 diabetes and ended up taking a shot of insulin every day. His health got worse and eventually he lost toes and then part of his foot. Complications set in and he passed on, 2 days before Thanksgiving. I still remember that entire sequence. Dad died on Tuesday, late that afternoon we are making arrangements with the funeral director, Wednesday I am picking out a casket, Thursday we have a subdued turkey dinner, Friday is the wake, Saturday is the funeral, Sunday we drove back to Connecticut, and Monday I was back at work!! I remember sitting in my office, thinking "what the heck just happened. A few days ago I had a father and now I don't"
When my mother died several years ago, we were going through her papers and found a letter I had written to her a few months after Dad died. It was full of the usual news about the kids and how work was going etc, but I closed with a few thoughts about Dad and here is what I said. They applied back then and still do today:
"I was thinking of Dad this past Wednesday, Feb 25, 3 months already since he died. Its hard to believe I don't have a father anymore. I wear his watch every day plus keep his last driver's license in my wallet and I have his army picture framed and on my bureau, plus I wear a lot of his clothes, so while he may be far away, he is still near. I hope he realized how much I loved him, thought about him, admired him and respected him, and especially for all he went through the past three years. And I hope he was proud of me and all I have accomplished and I hope I did the right things for him when we came to visit. I hope he realized how much I appreciated everything he did for me and I can't thank him enough."
Happy 100th Birthday Dad. I love you and miss you.
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