People say we look alike. Every once in a while I say something just like he would or tell a joke with the same timing. But not any more, Dad had a massive stroke and now can only whisper.
I learned so much from Dad. How to be at home in the woods. Paddle a canoe. Fish, hike, use and care for an ax. I learned how to be resourceful outside. To love the outdoors.
His fathering was less than perfect. He did the best he knew how; don’t we all? Dad had a framed copy of General Douglas MacArthur’s “Duty. Honor. Country” speech. Dad served in the Korean War as an Infantry 2nd Lt. Dad paid the bills, worked hard, and loved Mom.
And now, he is breathing slowly, his brain is scambled from the stroke. His short term memory is shot; can’t remember my visit yesterday. But he remembers with vivid detail, as do I, that rainy Oregon Cascade morning when I was ten. The rhythmic creek of wood on metal oarlocks as he rowed us down to that old snag on Paulina Lake, where the big fish were and are.