A Council of Fathers
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Round Rock , TX dominoes game[/caption]
I love photos of old men sitting around playing dominoes or just visiting. Though my definition of "old" seems to morph with the increase in the sum of my own trips around the sun.
Recently a random thought accosted me; what might it be like to have an audience with my father, his father, and all the generations preceding them? What if this meeting was with my fathers when they were the same age as me?
I wonder what views we might share and which we might not.
Would I note familiar traits - a manner of rubbing the chin, raising an eyebrow, or pattern of speech, that was passed down through the generations?
Perhaps I would find a common thread of faith, a love of the outdoors, music, and books.
What hopes did the earlier generations had for their descendants? Would that we gave them no regrets for their sacrifices for us.
I would listen intently to see if I could catch an inside joke, or a bit of family pride. And perhaps a bit of self-satisfaction that they had indeed left a legacy. Not of presidents and barons of industry. But of welders, teachers, pastors, lawmen and veterans. Of farmers, authors and sportsmen. Small business owners and cube dwellers.
Perhaps this is a meeting that we would invite Norman Rockwell to capture...but with a much larger canvas.
Round Rock , TX dominoes game[/caption]I love photos of old men sitting around playing dominoes or just visiting. Though my definition of "old" seems to morph with the increase in the sum of my own trips around the sun.
Recently a random thought accosted me; what might it be like to have an audience with my father, his father, and all the generations preceding them? What if this meeting was with my fathers when they were the same age as me?
I wonder what views we might share and which we might not.
Would I note familiar traits - a manner of rubbing the chin, raising an eyebrow, or pattern of speech, that was passed down through the generations?
Perhaps I would find a common thread of faith, a love of the outdoors, music, and books.
What hopes did the earlier generations had for their descendants? Would that we gave them no regrets for their sacrifices for us.
I would listen intently to see if I could catch an inside joke, or a bit of family pride. And perhaps a bit of self-satisfaction that they had indeed left a legacy. Not of presidents and barons of industry. But of welders, teachers, pastors, lawmen and veterans. Of farmers, authors and sportsmen. Small business owners and cube dwellers.
Perhaps this is a meeting that we would invite Norman Rockwell to capture...but with a much larger canvas.
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