It’s been fifty years, this week, since my dad died in my arms.
Some dates . . . some events . . . you never forget.
We all have them. Many times I’ve talked to people who remember exactly where they were and what they were doing when Kennedy was shot, or when the Challenger disintegrated, or when the Twin Towers were attacked. We remember the finest details of those moments, even though we have a hard time remembering what we had for dinner three nights ago.
The power of emotion!
I remember the first kiss, the sweetness of it, one mystery unlocked. I remember making love the first time, the frenetic, confusing energy of it, another mystery unlocked. I remember several broken hearts, a love lost to a young death, tragedies and triumphs, slights and recognitions. They were recorded in my memory banks, stored away, hermetically sealed in a Mason jar for safe-keeping, called upon from time to time, when story characters need a touch of humanity . . . and when I need a touch of humility.
I saw a “hanging tree” in New Iberia, Louisiana, and felt, at that time and at this time, sorrow for our species, and I saw mangled limbs on veterans who paid the ultimate price for a government’s hubris. I saw burned children in a hospital, and learned more about dignity from them than from anyone else in my lifetime.
Stored away . . . the power of emotion!
I’ve known addicts most of my adult life. I’ve known hookers. I’ve heard their stories and seen the pain on their faces, and that shit will stay with you forever, just as the testimony of the abused and discarded will brand your soul with the stench of truth.
The power of emotion!
I’ve shaken hands with Death and lived to tell of it. I’ve comforted those who live in the aftermath of violence, and I’ve celebrated the seemingly mundane events of life with those who didn’t have a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out. I remember it all, and it all is reflected in my writing, in my voice, and in my style.
How could it not be?
Bill
“Helping writers to spread their wings and fly.”
Billybuc
Artistry With Words 