I know it’s not Father’s Day, and we barely are over Mother’s Day, but I’ve been thinking of my dad lately. He’s gone 30 years now, and as the saying goes, I think about him every day, but lately, it’s intensified.
Granted, tomorrow would have been his birthday, and maybe my feelings of loss also intensify when May 18 comes around each year.
One thing my dad did was organize his class reunion every five years. After he passed away, I felt the need to carry on that tradition with my own class, so for the last three decades I’ve been doing just that.
Maybe that’s another association that is making me think of him.
I drive past Modern Lanes, and I think about him. He was the president of his bowling league, and he bowled for many years at the 9 p.m. Fides League on Thursday nights all winter long.
The New York Yankees remind me of my dad, and the Mohegan Pennsylvania casino horse race track reminds me of my dad, as he worked there for 18 seasons as a teller.
Armed Forces Week reminds me of my dad. He worked at Tobyhanna Army Depot, and each year he’d give tours during Armed Forces Week. He was also voted Commander of the Veterans Council. I always told him that position was the equivalent of being the class president in high school. He found that amusing.
Driving past my homestead is a big reminder of him, and when I think of mom, you know I have to think of dad.
Yes, maybe because he would have turned 97 years old tomorrow, and that’s why he’s on my mind. You know, he was diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer’s disease when he was just 53 years old and died a month before he turned 67.
The last 30 years without him have left a large hole in my life, and he died so young, I can’t even imagine what he’d be like in his later years. In many cases, our later years are not so kind to us, and maybe I don’t want to think about that either.
There’s no doubt in my mind that my hard-working father, who usually worked two jobs most of his life, is someone I needed to lean on and help me get through so many things. My father was a great peacekeeper, and he tried very hard to smooth things over when it got out of hand.
As a Taurus, and I don’t really believe in astrology, he was very reliable and patient, and I could have used him throughout my life.
Living with women in my family for most of my adult life, Dad would have been a great partner in crime. It just didn’t work out that way, and as many of you reading this, you too may have been in the same position as me.
Life isn’t all party balloons and roses; there are plenty of sad cases out there, and I know I’m not alone, but like many of you, we never forget, and May 18 is a day I get to honor my dad.
Well, Dad, I wish I could tell you it’s been great for the past 30 years, but it hasn’t … especially without you, but I want you to know you are loved and missed as we honor you on your 97th birthday.
As I eluded, life is not fair, and that was evident this past week when my sweet friend of many years, Kitty Bruce, passed away after undergoing knee surgery.
Kitty was the daughter of comedy legend Lenny Bruce, a man she adored from childhood until her dying day. She loved her mother, Honey, deeply and endlessly. One of her last posts was to her late mother on Mother’s Day.
I’m sure Lenny and Honey and her Grandma Sally were waiting for her on the other side.
Kitty had many struggles in her life, all of which she had behind her. Just a few years ago, she fell and broke her back, and it’s been pretty rough. All she wanted to do was get her knees fixed and enjoy the summer. That wasn’t in the master plan, and we lost one of the biggest-hearted people I know.
A very long time ago, she started Lenny’s House: A Recovery Home for Women in Honor of Lenny Bruce. I did photo work for her and had the privilege of designing Lenny’s House brochure. She helped many, many women, and that was a good thing.
After her back injury, I took her for an ice cream ride, walker and all, and she was in Heaven. It had been a while since she was anywhere but hospitals, rehabilitation, and the confines of her own home.
I said we would do it again once she got on her feet and was feeling better, but that, too, is sadly gone.
It’s funny, I watched the movie “Lenny” about her dad way before I knew her, and I felt it was strange, but I watched it again after we met, and the movie broke my heart. Lenny just wasn’t a famous comedian; that was my friend’s dad, and he was gone.
Good-bye to you, my friend Kitty Bruce — until we meet again.
Quote of the week
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure you carry quietly in your heart forever.” —Unknown
Thought of the week
“Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. It is the price of love, and the shadow left behind when someone dear is gone.” —Queen Elizabeth II
Bumper sticker
“Love knows not its own depth until the hour of separation.” —Kahlil Gibran
