Today would have been my father’s 85th birthday. How appropriate that I begin this blog today. My father left me note pads filled with his scrawling penmanship outlining stories about family, gangsters, homeless people and tugboats. He clipped small leaflets to the front of the pack that outlined a number of short story (?) titles that he had wanted to write about but never got to do so (he died in 1997). Each title was some aspect of life (his and my own) that he seemed to be fascinated with at the time. Some of this titles include:
- The Tale of Equals Tail. (In the early ’90’s, my own big, black great dane Equal had a wound on his whip-like tale. He would splatter blood everywhere when he was happy or excited. The ceilings and walls and anyone who stopped by would find themselves with speckles of bright red blood everywhere. Eventually we had to amputate the tip of the tail in order for it to heal properly. Unbeknownst to me, this must have made an impression on dad.
- The Great Fireplace (This would be the great fireplace at Bear Mountain in New York State where he would take our family on a winter Sunday afternoon when we were growing up. Those Sundays meant a lot to him. Now their memory means a lot to me too.
- The Frying Pan (My father loved the little tug boat tooting up and down the Hudson River during the 1990’s. The tug is now permanently docked at the South Street Seaport. Dad wanted to write a children’s book about the Frying Pan.)
- Living Over the Garage (My brother once ran away and lived in the loft of our garage for a week.) Subtitle: Boys Will Be Boys
There’s a few more of these titles, but they are either indecipherable or nonsensical. Just like my father. Happy Birthday, Dad.
Geneiveve Kaufman Writes 