By Mel Hansen, The Eighteen Wheeler Philosopher
Steps...as a child, young man, even recently as 4 or 5 yrs ago, it's been hard for me to walk behind or alongside my Dad. He's always walked very fast and eerily quiet!, something he told us he had to learn while fighting in the Philippine jungles during WWII.
While out following him as a boy during the deer hunts he would always stop and tell us to watch where we were stepping and then show us how to walk quietly by rolling heel to toe. The ol boy could sneak up on a church mouse! He taught us boys a lot about how to cover a lot of ground quietly in a big hurry. But try as I might I could never out pace the man. When moving sprinkler pipe it was fun to watch the nephews and my own sons...running with all their might..to keep up with Grandpa's normal walk! My Dads now 90 now. The past two times I've been home I've taken him to Logan and Montpelier for as he likes to say...a few odds and ends! (He just likes to get out and ride around for awhile and bullshit with whoever will bullshit back I cherish these alone times with my dad as I always have!
Yesterday I took him to 'Pelier, that's what he's always called Montpelier, Idaho, for another adventure in odds and ends! I open the door and try to help him in, he shoots me that all too familiar side glance over his glasses to let me know he can get in and out of the car without any assistance from his smartass son!...so I leave him to it. So we hit all his favorite dives in 'Pelier, True Value Hardware and the grocery store. I'm always amazed at all the people who know and will come up and bullshit with the ol boy!
I kinda stand back and marvel and take mental notes in the skillful mastery of ol boy bullshit! I's a fine art and believe it or not there are proper rituals that must be adhered to if you are to obtain your Masters Degree in this time honored form of communication, I'm pretty sure my dad has written most of the curriculum for the course!
But while walking along side of him, with the cane he uses now, I'm kinda thinking to myself...for hell sake dad hurry up a little!, I'm in a hurry! And I find myself out in front by 10-15 ft and hear him start to breathe harder and shuffle his feet faster as I realize he's trying to keep pace with the son he taught how to walk and has out paced for all his life.
Then I think to myself...what's my big hurry? This is time with my hero. So I slow up and he catches up and I fall in a half step behind him. As the automatic doors open he looks up over his shoulder a bit and grins at me and says, "Beat ya!" I then came to the realization that I'll be forever grateful to have followed and stepped in my dads steps, for they were and still are, learning steps!
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing this about your dad. I've traveled some of those places that our brave men fought in the Philippines and visited the Manila American WWII cemetery there. It certainly made all of the history lessons I had and stories I heard growing up much more real and increased my respect for those who fought. The scope and devastation of the fighting is almost beyond comprehension. Sounds like you've had an amazing example to follow from your dad.
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