I’ve been looking at a pair of binoculars that belong to my dad. He used them over the years when he and my brothers and I would go to the ‘out back’ of Arizona for a little time away.
I can still see him walking back to camp after spending the day up on a ridge. He’d always make sure he had the same 3 items with him - a pad to sit on, his favorite thermos with coffee, and his trusty binoculars around his neck.
Having grown up in a very small farming community in rural Kentucky and having served in the Air Force during the Korean War, dad never obtained a degree in ‘higher learning’. But he had (and still has) something a college education could never give him; this uncanny, God-given ability to work with people - read their demeanor, personality and moods, and set them at ease. You’ve heard of a ‘Horse Whisperer’. Dad was a People Whisperer. Even now with the onset of Alzheimer’s, he still exhibits this. People generally love to be around him. So with his approaching 83rd birthday, my thoughts turn to dad and my yearly, growing admiration and love for him.
And those binoculars? They are just a reminder of all the wise perspective and guidance dad provided - and for me, even at 55, I find myself wanting to see things through his eyes.
Happy Birthday Dad!
Happy Summer to all of you!