Fathers

There was a family who lived a simple, lower-middle class life back in the 80's. One of the children was a bright boy, and he went off to school in Chicago. He struggled to adapt to life in the big city, but eventually was able to learn to get along. The boy's family came to visit him once, which was a big deal for them. It was a long drive, and they weren't used to the area. The boy's father managed reasonably well, but was pretty nervous about the whole trip. When he was nervous, he liked to walk, and after they made it to the boy's apartment and got situated, announced that he needed to calm his nerves with a solo walk.

The boy knew his father might not know the ways of the city, and made sure he clearly told his dad not to go more than 2 blocks east, 3 blocks north, etc. so that the dad would not stray in to an unsafe area. The dad acknowledged the instructions, and set off.

After quite some time, when the father had not returned, the boy became concerned. He went looking for his dad (remember, this is the 80's, no cell phones). He was surprised to find dad a block away, happily washing the son's car in the parking lot at the end of the block. As he watched, something occurred to the boy: this was a city parking lot, there were no hoses, and in fact, no spigots. Where had his dad got the water to wash the car?

The boy asked the father, and the dad just smiled, and opened the trunk of his own car, where there were multiple gallon jugs, filled with water. The dad had driven 6 hours with water in his trunk, to see his boy and wash his car.

Hospice folks are like that. They would gladly go out of their way to do things for their patients, and not try to take credit for it either. Generous to a fault. Fathers and hospice workers. They have a lot in common.

Rest in Peace Stanley J. Sawicki. Happy Father's Day.