(with apologies to Madeleine L’Engle)
It’s funny how the most unrelated moments kick your memory into gear. In this case, it was something Daisy said. She is my niece’s daughter, which makes me her Great Aunt. (I just like how that sounds – Great Aunt Marta)
Daisy and Jonathan play together every week. They play dress up and Legos and trampoline jumping and watch Scooby-Doo. She is 6 and adorable and she gets very chatty.
So, Daisy & Jon were dressing up. Lucy convinced them to act out a play she has been writing.
Then it came time to put on their boots. It was raining and they wanted to wear boots.
As they were pushing their feet into their boots, Daisy made a comment. "My grandma’s dad once put on his boot and there was a scorpion in it and he had to take it off quickly," she giggled.
That sounded so familiar. Wait! Her grandma was my sister. That was my dad’s story she was telling.
Then I could see him telling the famous story. How he had tall boots with lots of laces. How he put his foot in, but his arch was high and it hid the baby scorpion. I remembered his long fingers moving rapidly as he told how he removed those laces with lightning speed when he realized there was a live scorpion in his boot. My dad was such a quiet man, but when he told a story he embellished and he told it patiently and with great theatrics. I thought of how much we all loved for him to tell "the scorpion in the boot" story. He would have loved to tell Daisy and Jonathan the story himself.
He passed away in 1999 and I miss him still, particularly in these moments.
They always seem to take me by surprise. I have things happen in my life and I think, "Papi would be so proud." I think he would love reading my blog entries. I can almost hear the pride in his voice and then he would remind me that his brother, Raoul Verdés was a writer in Cuba for Bohemia magazine in the 40’s. "It’s in your blood," he would say.
It amazes me that this fleeting, random moment evokes such intense emotions in me. Time travel is obviously possible. I do it all the time. =D
but of course papi IS reading yr blog – on his laptop in the celestial ‘hood… – & poking his elbow in a buddy’s ribs & saying “look at this one! that’s my youngest, The Writer.”