Friday, November 16, 2018

Leader of the band

Yes, three in a row from Dan Folgerberg. He is one of my favorite artists. This song has always touched me. My father was no musician, but he touched me in ways that this song portrays. My father was 52 when I was born. I was the last of nine children, coming in ten years behind most of the pack, and four after my next sibling. I know that I see my father in an entirely different light than my siblings. Maybe it is because he was older, perhaps because he was wiser. Maybe he learned a thing or three about being a parent through the rough times he gave them and they gave to him. In any case, I too wish I'd said Father I love you a lot more times.
I was living at home yet, working construction, when this song came out. Every time it came on the radio, I would turn it up. Maybe dad noticed.
My youngest son is named after my dad,  he the youngest son of the youngest son of the youngest son. Crazy, maybe. When we told dad we were naming the last grand child after him, he scolded and said not to. We didn't listen. After Ben was born, and we sent pictures, mom said dad was proud as a peacock, and would go in and talk to the picture on the wall. The only one he ever did that to. Also the only grand kid he held with out acting like it was a fragile container of nuclear waste.
So enjoy the music, and while you do, consider your own father and how he shaped your life. Then imagine where you might be had he never been there.


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