“He secured a position on an ice wagon/Where his collateral was soon frozen”… W.C. Fields
From “Melancholy Baby” by Robert B. Parker.
Sunny Randall drinking coffee in a café with her father who is a retired police officer. Sunny is a private detective.
Sunny: “No Decaf?”
Father: “I hate Decaf”
Sunny “Most people say as they get older, real coffee keeps them awake.”
“It does”
“It keeps you awake, but you drink it anyway.”
“I do”
“You could learn to like Decaf”
“f%#@ decaf”
“Oh….of course. I hadn’t thought of that”
I love to read……always have. I love the great authors. They create wonderful moments with an insightful arrangement of words and grammar. They introduce us to other people, lands, key moments in history and so much more. More often than not, they put into words thoughts, feelings, and emotions that I experience but cannot express or even understand. For this, I am eternally in their debt.
As for the above snippet, it is part of a larger conversation Sunny is having with her father. Coming to grips with her troubled youth is an ongoing task and she hopes her father will shed some light on the matter.
I just loved the way the author kept the conversation going so that it could move onto the important issue.
“You were a good father. You never disapproved of me.”
“Not much to disapprove of……………except that all-night in high school.”
I felt like crying. When I spoke, my voice was shaky.
“I love you Daddy.”
“I love you too.”
“You did what you could.”
“So did your mother.”
“It wasn’t quite enough.”
My father looked straight at me for a moment. I felt fourteen again.
“I think, probably, it never is.”
So often we try to blame our parents for whatever problems we have.
Seems to me that if, in your heart, you know your parents did the best they could with whatever their circumstances in life were, you can make peace with them and yourself. At least it’s the first step.
“If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right.” Bill Cosby
Texas Heat 
Excellent post. I guess I am glad to hear that, evidently, I am not the only one who struggles with the parent/child dynamics. The book quote was quite good, and, obviously, life experienced.
LikeLike
Doesn’t seem right that there should be any real confict at all. But there is. It’s the norm rather than the exception.
LikeLike
You are quoting one of my all time favorite authors, Robert B. Parker. The man was a genius in using so few words to describe a world of images and feelings. If you haven’t already, I suggest reading all of his books, Spenser, Jesse Stone and the marvelous Appalousa series. He’s gone but there are three authors taking over his characters. Ace Atkins nails the cadence that Parker used in his Spenser series. I don’t know of an author yet who will continue the Sunny Randell series. Parker was one in a million!
LikeLike
Hi Vickie. I agree with you re Parker. I’m in the process of reading all of his work. Love the Jesse Stone series especially. Ace Atkins is another of my favorites and in fact just finished “The Lost Ones”. Although James Lee Burke is the other extreme he is also one of my favorites. So many great books and so little time.
LikeLike
Great post Bobby. It is appreciated by all who reas I’m sure.
LikeLike
Hope all is well with you. Your comment is appreciated.
LikeLike
I love this post! It’s so true too!
LikeLike
A neat result of age is gaining some understanding of stuff, at least it should be. Hurry back….the weather is changing. High of 80 here yesterday.
LikeLike
Wow, move over Plato the Badger is here!!!
LikeLike
A wise man recognizes those things.
LikeLike