The Last Time I Ever Saw Dad

Dad had Alzheimer’s. We never figured this out until well after he stunned us all by selling the farm. A few years after he did that, he came across the yard to my back door. “Do I have my clothes on?” he said as he stepped inside.

“Well yes,” I said.

“People get awfully upset if you don’t,” he said. Then he warned me to be on my toes so that no one would come and take the farm away.

Mom looked after him with endless patience. When we all went out to eat Sunday dinner together, Dad grinned, drew a great breath and let out a noise like a steam engine whistle, reducing the entire restaurant to dead silence. “Harry!” she gasped. “Mercy sakes!”

At three ‘o clock one morning, Mom gave me a ring and sent me out to look for him. I found him in his pajamas, barefoot in the snow. As I led him back to the house by his gnarled old hand, I remembered him tirelessly holding me by the overall straps, ploughing whilst I slept on the running-board. Soon he was making a game of eluding us by hiding in the woods. He was becoming difficult to find.

The last time I ever saw him, I went to the rest home with my banjo to keep him company. He would no longer open his eyes, but they had him dressed and sitting in the common room. I played Camptown Races, Old Joe Clark, Silver Bell, Turkey in the Straw and King’sHead. Dad nodded and tapped his foot in perfect time. Old withered folks shuffled in with walkers to join us. Wheelchairs parked between the davenports. Here and there, frail old voices were beginning to sing.

A minister appeared, pacing about in agitation before coming up to me. “It’s time for my delivery,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m afraid you’ll have to quit.”

I put away my banjo. “I’ll be back in a day or two, Dad.”

He squeezed his eyes tight and nodded. 

 

 

 

Tom Phipps

The Junk Picker By Jan F. Drewniak & Don Drewniak

41+JOb3PQ-L._SY346_PJlook-inside-v2,TopRight,1,0_SH20_The Junk Picker by Jan F. Drewniak and Don Drewniak is a well-written, witty and highly enjoyable tale. Reading these adventures of Johnny, “Pinball” Drewniak put me in mind of a number of beloved sitcoms from the past such as I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Andy Griffith, etc., but better because this story is true. The resemblance is not because The Junk Picker is really like any of these sitcoms, but rather because it is written with the same warmth and good humor.

The young son of Polish immigrants leaves home at an early age and through perseverance and hard work develops a great number of marketable skills. Most notably, an eye for collectibles and antiques. This talent leads his friends and admires to call him a “collector” and his critics to call him a “junk picker”. Read this wonderful tale for yourself and then you decide.
I highly recommend The Junk Picker to people of all ages who like to sit back and simply read and enjoy a good story…and come away smiling.

Reviewed by:
Carol Marrs Phipps