As Father's Day approached and the 29th anniversary of my Dad’s death is about six weeks away, I was thinking about bringing him up to date over lunch. The conversation might go as follows:
“How's my cute little grandson Ari doing?”
“Ari was 16 months old when you died, Dad and he's now 30, married, expecting his first child, our first grandchild and your first great-grandchild.”
“What does he do to support himself?”
“He and your other grandson Chad, who’s 28, own a golf club manufacturing company called Scratch Golf. They started it from scratch and have become a force in the golf industry worldwide.” I envision my dad smiling from ear to ear, not only for their apparent success, but having two Techners successfully working together.
“Just the two boys?"
“No, Dad. We also have Stephanie. She's 23, has her degree in Sustainable Agriculture, manages a farm and she and her boyfriend have dreams of owning their own farm.”
“Does she even look like her mother?”
“Hard to tell their high school graduation pictures apart.”
“Your mother must be proud.”
“Yes, Dad, she was proud. Mom died peacefully six years ago after a decade-long battle with Alzheimers. She loved those kids.”
I would then tell him of his other two sons – my brothers – his four more grandchildren and how each is in a very good place. He would have been so happy to know the Techner name was going strong.
“Dad, brace yourself with this news. This country just elected its first black President. Gas is at $3.00 a gallon, down from $4.00 a gallon last summer. Remember General Motors? It’s in bankruptcy court and was taken off the New York Stock Exchange because the value of its stock no longer warrants a place on the exchange. Chrysler is also in bankruptcy, but it looks like Fiat's going to own them. Oh, and Merrill Lynch, the company that handled your stocks, is gone. Bunches of banks and insurance companies have imploded - the government’s trying to save them by pumping a couple hundred billion their way to save them -that's billion with a B.”
Dad asks me about the device was on the table. “It's a cell phone, Dad. I can virtually call anyone anywhere in the world on it. Oh, I can also email and send texts all over the world. It's really pretty handy.”
“Where's the wire to hook it up?”
“That's why they call it a cell.”
I can see he is overwhelmed. I want to tell him about 9/11, but what is the point? I just hope that, knowing we are all well, he can rest in peace, assured that his legacy to his family is safe.
“Ari was 16 months old when you died, Dad and he's now 30, married, expecting his first child, our first grandchild and your first great-grandchild.”
“What does he do to support himself?”
“He and your other grandson Chad, who’s 28, own a golf club manufacturing company called Scratch Golf. They started it from scratch and have become a force in the golf industry worldwide.” I envision my dad smiling from ear to ear, not only for their apparent success, but having two Techners successfully working together.
“Just the two boys?"
“No, Dad. We also have Stephanie. She's 23, has her degree in Sustainable Agriculture, manages a farm and she and her boyfriend have dreams of owning their own farm.”
“Does she even look like her mother?”
“Hard to tell their high school graduation pictures apart.”
“Your mother must be proud.”
“Yes, Dad, she was proud. Mom died peacefully six years ago after a decade-long battle with Alzheimers. She loved those kids.”
I would then tell him of his other two sons – my brothers – his four more grandchildren and how each is in a very good place. He would have been so happy to know the Techner name was going strong.
“Dad, brace yourself with this news. This country just elected its first black President. Gas is at $3.00 a gallon, down from $4.00 a gallon last summer. Remember General Motors? It’s in bankruptcy court and was taken off the New York Stock Exchange because the value of its stock no longer warrants a place on the exchange. Chrysler is also in bankruptcy, but it looks like Fiat's going to own them. Oh, and Merrill Lynch, the company that handled your stocks, is gone. Bunches of banks and insurance companies have imploded - the government’s trying to save them by pumping a couple hundred billion their way to save them -that's billion with a B.”
Dad asks me about the device was on the table. “It's a cell phone, Dad. I can virtually call anyone anywhere in the world on it. Oh, I can also email and send texts all over the world. It's really pretty handy.”
“Where's the wire to hook it up?”
“That's why they call it a cell.”
I can see he is overwhelmed. I want to tell him about 9/11, but what is the point? I just hope that, knowing we are all well, he can rest in peace, assured that his legacy to his family is safe.
