On this exact date, and at about the same time I write this, my father passed away 10 years ago. Though it was heartbreaking for all of us who knew him, I was fortunate enough to be there with him at his side, or at least in the same room, when it happened. Far from the dramatic scenes we see on television or imagine in our minds of someone desperately gasping for their last breath, this was far from the case with my Daddy. He was definitely a class act to the end.
After I woke that morning, my sister Rori who had been up all night by his side asked me if I could watch him while she and others went to get something to eat, green chile breakfast burritos, if I recall correctly. I took over my watch, and after sharing some time with him by his side for a bit, I decided to take a new computer I had recently purchased for a test drive by writing a poem on it for him. This is what I wrote:
Father to the Child
So it was in the beginning
So also will it be in the end
We begin with a deep breath
And so too it will be upon our death
A babe cared for and fed
So also will it be upon our deathbed
We begin as father to the child
Taking care of them all the while
And though we are not sure if we can
Eventually we become father to the man
15 Sep 2012
∞ RHM² ∞
As I wrote these words they literally came to pass, as did he.
When Rori came back, I looked up and she as she came into the room immediately went to see my dad. She looked at me sitting there on the floor and said, “Robbie, he’s not breathing.”
I jumped up and went over to him only to find that she was right! He had passed away while I was sitting there typing away, unaware anything was amiss. As I write these words, I now chuckle to myself because this exact morning as I was playing golf on a golf course I’ve designed, I believe my father played a little trick on me by taking my ball and hiding it. His little trick encourages me to write something I have thinking about recently regarding the similarities between life and golf which I will publish separately and dedicate to his memory since he loved the game. In fact, he loved all games!
Ten years ago, my good friend Walter Elliott correctly predicted my rebirth after my father’s passing. Today I realize more than ever that my Daddy never went anywhere, he continues to be by my side with every step I take and every shot I make.
15 Sep 2022
∞ Rob McBride ∞