I was at the bay yesterday, squeezing one last Sunday out of summer. Laying on the shore with a smattering of others, the calm water mesmerized me almost as much as the beach's rhythmic waves. Young boys cavorting ended my daydream. One is tall and quite lanky, the other is shorter and solid. They are both white and perhaps 13. The lanky one is very pale with short auburn hair. His friend is tan with a buzz cut. They chase each other around, back and forth from the water's edge to their towels on the sand: Buzz: Ahhhh! You can't catch me!
Lanky: Ha! Shut up! Watch out!
Buzz: See! Told you.
(Outruns Lanky and plops on his towel. Lanky oversteps and falls on his knees.)
Lanky: Hey! Watch this. I'm gonna pretend I'm throwing this to my dad.
(He grabs a football and throws it wildly. Wobbling sideways, it plunks into the bay.)
Buzz: Dude, that was lame!
Lanky: That's what he would say. I don't care!
Buzz: Aren't you gonna get the ball? It's floating away!
Lanky: Nope. My dad would be mad but I don't care. I'm glad he's gone.
Buzz looks back and forth between Lanky and the football a few times. Lanky returns to his towel and lays on his stomach. Buzz runs into the water, swims a short distance to retrieve the ball and drops it on Lanky's back. He stands, takes the football and throws it back into the bay with loud grunt.
Many children do hate their dads because of some traumatic experience or could be any other reasons, I myself hated my dad until I dropped out of school. Early this year, I came back home and we patched up the differences. I have forgiven him.
ReplyDeleteLord Manila, that sounds like a happy ending. Forgiveness tests our courage. That's not a judgement, just my own experience with forgiving.
ReplyDeleteI noticed he said he was glad his dad was gone. Made me wonder just "how" gone he was. Perhaps a divorce, perhaps he just walked out, maybe he died. I was also thinking that maybe he was mad at his father for leaving not really happy he was gone.
ReplyDeleteDS
It's just so sad to see such bitterness at such a young age...
ReplyDeleteWhat are we doing to these kids?
Your writing is so vivid. It's as if I'm right there.
ReplyDeleteHi all, I was also so curious about Lanky's circumstances. I distinctly got the feeling his dad left, but didn't die. Maybe he's in the military. It's easier to imagine a deployment than a father choosing to leave his family, his son.
ReplyDeleteHo wonderful Lanky has found a way to vent his feelings!!!
ReplyDeleteJJ :D
Wow. We need our dads don't we? My dad was there but he wasn't there, you know what I mean? This story hit home a bit for me.
ReplyDeleteIt is often our relationship, or lack thereof, with our earthly dads that keeps us accepting God as our Heavenly Father. Once we understand how much he loves us and that he will never leave us or forsake us, it makes the pain from our earthly dads seem a little less significant.
Great post! I love your style!
Thanks, Michael. I like your philosphy and hope others can find comfort as you have.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. What a fantastic idea. My wife and I are self proclaimed 'people watchers' (but only to each other) We sit at restaurants and whisper
ReplyDelete"that couple is having an argument" or "he's taking pictures of her and she hates it."
We are now on a 2 year assignment in the the south of France. My French is rudimentary at best. The country is beautiful and great and it has been an experience of a life time. But I miss standing in a store or restaurant and hearing a little vignette of anonymous lives.
Your blog would be a fantastic book. Have you read http://waiterrant.net/
This guy got a book published on his frustrations as a waiter.
You paint a moment great and your direction is fantastic.
Anyway, I had my say. You have been bookmarked and high on my blog read list. Please keep posting.
I think lots of teenagers go through a phase of hating one or the other of their parents. The father may have even just left them at the beach and gone back home or something - hence why he has 'gone'. Maybe Dad was being a bit too disciplinarian with him that particular day and annoyed him...
ReplyDeleteDorion, I thanks for reading and writing! I see you're a photographer. How wonderful it must be to make a living creatively. I can easily relate to your restaurant eavesdropping. Great material around dinner time. I intend to check out the waiter's site. Thanks for the tip!
ReplyDeleteAgnes, I didn't even think of that - a short-term and rather benign departure! I'll hold that one in mind; it's happier than what I'd originally imagined.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks Mike! I look forward to it. You'll hear back from me lickety split (more like tonight!).
ReplyDeleteThe boy was definitely showing displeasure for his dad.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others. You can definitely tell a vivid story! I was under the impression that the father was around however was a bit too strict with the young man. Boys tend to rebel around that age, especially when they get to thinking they know everything and their parents know nothing at all!
ReplyDeleteHi Muser, thanks for that! I'm glad you saw the Dad's absence as temporary. That's less ominous than what I'd imagined.
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