Thursday, August 19, 2010

Happy Birthday to the Man (Part I)

Cute, huh? I get the feeling he was a handful for his mom... but he's had some payback (ahem) so it all works out in the end. She liked to tell the story of how he beat her back to the front porch after she dropped him off at school on the first day... it's a good thing she didn't know then that it would become a sort of pattern. I have recently come to the realization that we don't have a baby picture of dad and that I have never seen one. Just last weekend I was reminded of a Cedar Chest that Arlene owned (I can only vaguely remember ever seeing it...) But supposedly it was put into "storage" underneath their mobile home when it was purchased. Smitty said that "they had all gone through it and thrown it away before I got there..." after Arlene died and the trailer was sold. I felt serious regret... I wonder what treasures went unrecognized and unappreciated at that time. Her wedding dress? Some of her parents things? Photos perhaps. I can only guess while acknowledging it is far too late to do anything at all about it.
Look at the promise in that young face- and drive, and energy. When asked about his life and his accomplishments Don could honestly quote the lyrics from a song by Frank Sinatra and reply simply "I did it my way-" and he has been good at it, too.
Look out, world, here he comes. Handsome, isn't he? How incredibly his life would change in just a few short months- all we want when we're young is to grow up. You know that you have the first time you regret not appreciating the freedom of your youth.

1 comment:

lesli said...

I never met a davis dart i didn't like! Happy late birthday don!