Another depature

Today I found out that Jeffrey left us on Wednesday.  I have spent all afternoon consumed with thoughts of him, and my regrets.  His passing leaves me thinking of my dad, as well.  First, that is just how death works now.  Someone dies, I feel the searing pain of the loss of him.  Second, he knew Jeffrey, and would be deeply hurting over this loss.  If he were here, we would be on the phone discussing this tragedy, and he would be marveling over Jeffrey's mom, and what she has been asked to live through.  But he's not here, and instead all I can think is that my dad grudgingly welcomed Jeff last week.  I hope my dad knows how lucky he is to have his company....he has got a contagious laugh, is wise beyond his years, a Dean in '04 fan, funny, forgiving, anti-war, inspiring, well-read, and always a Redskins fan.   

MD Basketball

I used to watch Maryland basketball with him all the time.  It was another sports thing that we would do together.  He followed both the womens and the mens team so closely that he would follow the kids being recruited out of high school.  I wasn't quite that intense about it, but I did love to watch the games with him.  If I couldn't be over with him, we'd call each other. Especially during the MD/Duke games.   In the last few years, I made it his "job" to call me the day of a MD basketball game....because I couldn't keep track of their schedule.  Sometimes, he would forget to call me and my phone would ring at 10:00 at night....it would be him.  He'd say "you aren't going to be happy with me" in a very serious tone.  I'd say "what, Dad?" He'd say "well, as it turns out, Maryland played tonight, and I'm calling you to let you know, only the game ended about 5 minutes ago."  And then he'd do his laugh.  Since he's been gone, I can't keep track of these games, these guys, or any of it.  I know he would want me to be on it, but so far I have let him down.  

It was the best of times....

This book jumped off the shelf of a random used book store I visited.  It's a book I have never read, but it reminds me of him.  This book is a key prop in a hilarious Cheers episode, when Frazier tries to elevate the bar-folk's classic-lit knowledge by reading "A Tale of Two Cities."  Of course this scene plays out hilariously, which always makes me think of my dad.  Then, this book was referenced during my dad's now-famous "Great Depression Interview" with a friend's daughter.  She needed to present her research as 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."  I remember when my friend asked me if my dad would be interviewed, I told her "yes, but he will say everything was fine and dandy" because my dad never did complain about any of the "hard times" whether it be the Depression, loss of family members, troubled times, or even cancer.  And of course when this book came up in the interview, we had a good laugh about Cheers, and then he went on to say that it was true.....that great goodness came out of those hard times, including a lot of what has formed him as a s person.  Yes, it was the best of times.