Forty years ago today, on a cold and
dark Oct 6th 1974, my Dad tragically passed away from a massive heart
attack. He was only 40 years old! I
had just turned 14. There are no words to express the tragedy of my Dad’s
passing and the chaos that my siblings and I went through as well as our Uncle
Ron and Gram. I started this post
by writing about the details of the tragic day my Dad passed, but found that it
was just too personal at this time and possibly too long of a story to
tell. All I can say is for me it
was a nightmare that has had no end.
I want to share a story about my Dad from when I was a young
girl. When I was in Home Economics class, I think it was 7th
grade. We had to go to the store
to get fabric and decorative ribbon for a tote bag that we were making in
class. Well, my Dad took me to the
fabric store on Rte. 37 just by Hooper Ave. I don’t remember the name but I can clearly remember the
building. Well, anyhow, we went in
to the store and we looked at the fabric. My Dad was in his element,
‘color’! He was so good at picking
out colors and matching them up to each other. I could see he was in heaven with color and patterns.
We chose a bright shocking fuschia color for the outside. We chose a
tiny flower pattern for the inside that matched up so beautifully. Then we picked out the ribbon for the
handles and this is where my Dad came to life even more. I remember the ribbon being about 2
inches wide and it was so beautiful with flowers and shades of pink, fuschia ,
purples and metallic thread on it. When I think back, it was the most expensive
of all the ribbon like it, but Dad wanted me to get it. He would not have it any other way. He
said to me, “ this is the prettiest in the store and I think you should have
it”! So off to the cutting table
we went.
I share this story because it is such a reflection of the
man, Dad, toy designer and son he was. What Dad in 1973 took their daughter to
the fabric store and picks out pink, fuschia and flower patterned fabric? He
was so natural and like he was where he was supposed to be at that moment in
time. My Dad was there, because he
knew he had to. My heart was
relying on it.
To this day I don’t know what happened to that tote
bag. I usually save important
things from people I love and I do, have some of the fuschia fabric and it is
Vintage 43 years old!
I miss my Dad and I think of him in some way everyday. He was a hard Dad to forget. As my Mom has passed now too, I hope they are sharing a life together
some where in heaven, or if not somewhere in the Universe. Someday I will see him again, and we will be able to talk shop!!
Cheers,
Loren
