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Monday, October 25, 2004
Good Morning, Doves
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Goodbye Kiss
Author Unknown
The Board Meeting had come to an end. Bob started to stand up and jostled the table, spilling his coffee over his notes. "How embarrassing. I am getting so clumsy in my old age."
Everyone had a good laugh, and soon we were all telling stories of
our most embarrassing moments. It came around to Frank who sat
quietly listening to the others. Someone said, "Come on, Frank. Tell
us your most embarrassing moment."
Frank laughed and began to tell us of his childhood. "I grew up in
San Pedro. My Dad was a fisherman, and he loved the sea. He had his
own boat, but it was hard making a living on the sea. He worked hard
and would stay out until he caught enough to feed the family. Not
just enough for our family, but also for his Mom and Dad and the
other kids that were still at home."
He looked at us and said, "I wish you could have met my Dad. He was a
big man, and he was strong from pulling the nets and fighting the
seas for his catch. When you got close to him, he smelled like the
ocean. He would wear his old canvas, foul-weather coat and his bibbed
overalls. His rain hat would be pulled down over his brow. No matter
how much my Mother washed them, they would still smell of the sea and
of fish."
Frank's voice dropped a bit. "When the weather was bad he would drive
me to school. He had this old truck that he used in his fishing
business. That truck was older than he was. It would wheeze and
rattle down the road. You could hear it coming for blocks. As he
would drive toward the school, I would shrink down into the seat
hoping to disappear. Half the time, he would slam to a stop and the
old truck would belch a cloud of smoke. He would pull right up in
front, and it seemed like everybody would be standing around and
watching. Then he would lean over and give me a big kiss on the cheek
and tell me to be a good boy. It was so embarrassing for me. Here I
was, twelve years old, and my Dad would lean over and kiss me good-
bye!"
He paused and then went on, "I remember the day I decided I was too
old for a good-bye kiss. When we got to the school and came to a stop,
he had his usual big smile. He started to lean toward me, but I put
my hand up and said, 'No, Dad.'
It was the first time I had ever talked to him that way, and he had
this surprised look on his face.
I said, 'Dad, I'm too old for a good-bye kiss. I'm too old for any
kind of kiss.'
My Dad looked at me for the longest time, and his eyes started to
tear up. I had never seen him cry. He turned and looked out the
windshield. 'You're right,' he said. 'You are a big boy, a man. I won'
t kiss you anymore.'"
Frank got a funny look on his face, and the tears began to well up in
his eyes, as he spoke. "It wasn't long after that when my Dad went to
sea and never came back. It was a day when most of the fleet stayed
in, but not Dad. He had a big family to feed. They found his boat
adrift with its nets half in and half out. He must have gotten into a
gale and was trying to save the nets and the floats."
I looked at Frank and saw that tears were running down his cheeks.
Frank spoke again. "Guys, you don't know what I would give to have my
Dad give me just one more kiss on the cheek, to feel his rough old
face, to smell the ocean on him, to feel his arm around my neck. I
wish I had been a man then. If I had been a man, I would never have
told my Dad I was too old for a good-bye kiss."
Author Unknown
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May God Bless You Today
Bob Johnston
Editor / Publsher
Sand Dollar
Bob @ Ripplemaker.com
www.ripplemaker.com
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