My dad recounted things that happened in his life with great flair. As a child I loved his stories and listened attentively to every detail of his amazing adventures.
During his younger years, Dad planned to be a boxer and was actively pursuing that path. I’m extremely happy he chose a less brain-damaging career. It was because he had such a keen mind that he remembered things in detail, and he passed those memories on to his children in the form of remarkable stories.
During the Great Depression, Dad and Mom lived in Scott County, Virginia, near the Clinch River. I fell in love with that beautiful mountain area long before I ever visited there, and it was Dad’s stories that caused me to choose that unique place as the childhood home for the protagonist in Child of Desire. No matter how many times Dad told the same stories, I was always transported to that place where, along with him, I climbed the mountainside, fished on the Clinch River, and gathered and cracked black walnuts to take to market. I could visualize the swiftly flowing, muddy water when the river flooded and feel the possessiveness of the people as they protected their little community against outsiders, of which Dad was one.
The first person other than family who read and critiqued my novel asked me when she returned it if the story was about me. The answer to that question is no, but parts of the story are “as seen through Dad’s eyes.” The descriptions of the time and place and some incidents in my novel are retellings of stories I heard as a child.
I will forever be indebted to Dad for the stories around the dinner table and during family events.
“What will the world miss if you don’t tell your story?” ~ Author, Donald Miller
Well done. Many of my most treasured memories stem from the stories that man recounted!
ReplyDeleteVanilla, I could visualize the people and places as he told us stories - the mark of a great story-teller.
DeleteA most remarkable man was he.
ReplyDelete