Robert, one of 5 brothers, oddly in May

2022-05-25
Dad with Shari – a path trod by many, understood by few. c. Easter ’61, somewhere in New York town

|Wed 25 May 2022 @18:22|

Robert was one of the 5 Wallace boys. He served his country, his town, his communities with honor and dignity – suspect his example is part of my bedrock, my blueprint of ‘success’
Never got to chat with him about ‘dadding’ – certainly would have appreciated an ear to bend these past few chaotic days/years/decades.

Dad prepared/perturbed, next to the avocado stove of the ‘new’ home, c. ’79, yorkville town

‘is it alright that I had strong feels, tears as I dropped Rumbly off, watching him – looking at him – seeing him – walk towards the school this morning.’
‘did you every suffer the stutter-tongued moment when the teacher says ‘thank you so much’ for the card you sent in with the kiddo, a note – just a fucking piece of paper – that said ‘hey – thanks for showing up. can’t imagine the stress you’re feeling’ – why do I have to do this, dad?’

I suspect he’d do that cool dad thing where he is there, supportive, accepting that he doesn’t have all the answers, that he’s willing to put some effort in looking into things – say, suspended animation, photocopied from a college library, clipped into a file folder – really cool two hole punch, slide-y metal bar running down, fold the two metal spikes over – almost as cool as the binder clips he had in the garage on Moseley street…

got to visit you finally, wintry day last Dec. c. Dec ’21, rome town

So as I sit with you not being able to listen but knowing that you hear my thoughts, I glance at the beauty an acquaintance of Shari turned you into – I miss you dearly. I’m grateful you were in my life, guided me towards a better version of manhood than it seems so many others don’t consider, all the things a son feels for his dad.
it’s a … path? well, it’s where I hope I’m heading too. Can’t wait to revisit seeing films in cinemas, a joy you introduced me to. Soon. perhaps even with my son.
love ya dad. miss ya.

ciao,
::s::
Respice ad diem hanc“Don’t Forget to Be Awesome”