Wisdom of our Fathers
Wisdom of our Fathers, a new book out by Tim Russert. I haven’t read it and I don’t thing I will. It will be a book like his last one, bragging about his father. He was one of the lucky kids, I guess. I’m not sure if I could say wether my dad was wise or not. I just don’t know.
My dad left when I was a baby. And I met him for the first time when I was 13 years old.
It was a cold wintery North Dakota day. I walked into an old hotel lobby and there he stood. He was the tallest man I’d ever seen. He wore a dark hat like those I’d seen on the tv show, "The Untouchables." A weekly show about gangsters. My father had on a long dress coat on like Leave to Beaver’s dad wore home from work. He was very thin and I noticed big hands and large feet. I don’t remember what he said to me, and I believe I was probably to shy to say anything to him.
I didn’t see him again until I was in my 20's. By then cancer and the medication for it had destroyed his mind.
He died when I was 26. I had visited him on occasion, bringing him a carton of cigarettes (with no filters of course). I don’t believe he ever did quit smoking (the terrible cause of his cancer).
I have smoked a cigarette a time or two in my life, but I always remember the suffering my father went threw because of it. -His mouth was raw at times, his teeth could fall out when chewing food, his tobacco stained fingers, and his loss of memory. He couldn’t remember me, or my siblings, or what day it was.
In retrospect maybe my father did give me something after all. -My life long dislike for smoking. I have preached of the down side of smoking, to my husband (he quit smoking some 15 years ago), and to my children. I don’t think any of them smoke and I hope they don’t ever start.
My dad left when I was a baby. And I met him for the first time when I was 13 years old.
It was a cold wintery North Dakota day. I walked into an old hotel lobby and there he stood. He was the tallest man I’d ever seen. He wore a dark hat like those I’d seen on the tv show, "The Untouchables." A weekly show about gangsters. My father had on a long dress coat on like Leave to Beaver’s dad wore home from work. He was very thin and I noticed big hands and large feet. I don’t remember what he said to me, and I believe I was probably to shy to say anything to him.
I didn’t see him again until I was in my 20's. By then cancer and the medication for it had destroyed his mind.
He died when I was 26. I had visited him on occasion, bringing him a carton of cigarettes (with no filters of course). I don’t believe he ever did quit smoking (the terrible cause of his cancer).
I have smoked a cigarette a time or two in my life, but I always remember the suffering my father went threw because of it. -His mouth was raw at times, his teeth could fall out when chewing food, his tobacco stained fingers, and his loss of memory. He couldn’t remember me, or my siblings, or what day it was.
In retrospect maybe my father did give me something after all. -My life long dislike for smoking. I have preached of the down side of smoking, to my husband (he quit smoking some 15 years ago), and to my children. I don’t think any of them smoke and I hope they don’t ever start.
posted by Deb | 8:58 PM
4 Comments:
You can tell kids what is right and what is wrong. But, in the end character is what helps them make the right decision.
It amazes me that even with all the information out there about smoking that people continue to light up. I put a lot of blame on the tobacco companies and the government. There are a lot of people that would quit if they could.
If I were marketing a new product today that had all the attictive and harmful chemicals that cigarettes have do you think the government would allow me to market it? Like everything else in politics it is all about the cash.
Your right character is everything. And you don't really know it till you have it. I wish young people would work harder at building character, and I wish others would work at keeping good character. Character and honesting go along way in this world. -thanks Chad
I am sorry about your experience with your Father. Was there something else going on with him? Was it Lung Cancer? I didn't know it was so detrimental to the mind? Did he have some dementia also? Thanks for sharing your thoughts on him.
My Father's cancer started in his mouth,it progress to his lungs and into his bones. I beleive he took experimental drugs, but I think the large amounts of morphine and other pain kills left him with poor memory. I remember he broke his hip while trying to get out of bed. He lived along time with his cancer, but it was not good years for him.
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