A Letter To My Father

" Daddy?" " Daddy? " That's not me calling out to you, that's my little girl calling me, her father. You now have a granddaughter whom you've never met. Her name is Chloe, and she's an amazingly beautiful addition to my my life. Ocassionally she'll ask me about you, and I actually dread when this occurs because I don't have much to tell her, except what I remember about you, which isn't much. If ever there were a time in which I could seriously use some fatherly advice, that time would be now. You have a granddaughter, a granddaughter, and she is the most magnificent little person I've ever had the pleasure of knowing, let alone rearing. You haven't the slightest idea whom this precious little wonder is. Her name is Chloe, and she thinks I'm the greatest person on this earth. She's four, and, in the opinion of many, she resembles me a great deal; which means she looks like you.

Where have you been man? My brother and I have been out here in this world and have, for the most part, fended for ourselves. Chrismin was overwhelmed. What an immense responsibilty, raising two boys by her herself. She tried, but essentially, we raised ourselves Tommy. What happened to you? I wish you could feel how this has impacted our lives: I am a man, who was raised to be so without a paradigm to emulate. Simple shit, Tommy, like learning how to tie a tie, or shave, I had to teach myself. It hurts me that I didn't have you to teach me these things. I'm still teaching myself, every day, what it means to be a man.

33 Tommy, That's how old I am, Your youngest is 30. I'm not trying to make you feel bad for not taking care of us, I just wish that upon reading this missive, you would try to reintroduce yourself to us. Mom's past on, my brother and me are still here. We're still here man. Where have you been Tommy? Have you any idea of how tough life has been for us? I wonder if you're still alive...