I am the youngest of my father’s three daughters. I am
sixty and Pa will turn eighty-eight in a short eleven days. He has suffered
with prostate problems for the past year and has had three surgeries in the
last few months. He has lost twenty-five pounds during this illness, five of
which were in the hospital during his last admission. So I flew to Napa,
California to be another set of hands to help my parents.
Pa
was released from the hospital on a Sunday and we went to Safeway on Monday to
stock up on groceries. The checker asked where I was from, probably due to my
accent, and I told him Tennessee. Then he asked if I was visiting someone. I
pointed to Pa and said, “Yes, my father.”
He looked at Pa, who was wearing a
ball cap which hid his white hair, and exclaimed in surprise, “You’re kidding!”
I knew what he meant. Pa
has always looked young for his age. I was proud to be his relation and hoped I
would take after him.
I asked, “How old does he look?”
Now you have to remember
that Pa had lost twenty-five pounds, had three surgeries, received two units of
blood, and had just been discharged after a week in the hospital.
The checker’s reply,
“Why, he doesn’t look much older than you!!!”
I
say the checker was just a kid who couldn’t determine age very well! Anyway,
that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
However,
it did make Pa’s day. J
February 15, 2009
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