A small tribute to a man whom I'm sure was my personal Angel when I was a child.
All The Important Things About Dave
There was a quiet strength about Dave - tall and slim with a no nonsense feel, softened by his grace and humor. His walk was sure and purposeful. Easily in his late 70's; the lines on his face boasted the living of years long past. His eyes were gentle, kind, and grey as I recall.
I don't believe I ever knew where Dave came to us from, or where he went to when he left us. I don't know what he did for a living or if he had a family of his own. In reality I knew very little about Dave. The only tangible thing I knew was that he was my grandfathers friend who came to stay with us every summer. And yet I knew all the most important things about Dave.
Looking back, it seems most of my memories of Dave are very similar in nature. He showed up at our house suit case in hand. He rarely made it the entire way up the walk to the front door due to the small redhead girl running to throw her arms around his thighs while excitedly asking how long he would stay. Never more than a week. Never long enough for me.
Every summer Dave arrived via Greyhound which used the back of Sequim Drug Store as a depot. The summer of my eighth year I recall my mother giving me money and sending me to that drug store for aspirin. Much to my joy and surprise, while I was there Dave got off the bus. He held my hand and told me funny stories of people he met and things he had learned on his journey as we walked home. I adored him.
Dave liked to sit outside in the grass while my siblings and I played out in the yard. Which often resulted in me sitting in the grass by his side. My favourite memory of Dave was on such a day. As we chatted he reached down and plucked a single blade of grass. He smiled at me as he set the blade between his thumbs and brought them to his lips, and blew. I was delighted as the hidden magic within Dave released the magic trapped inside the grass and it sang a long joyous note, as if thanking him for setting it free; and then another, and then another. "That was cool!" I said, "I didn't know you could do that!" "Would you like to learn how?" Dave asked.
In answer I picked a blade of grass of my own and Dave shared his magic with me. He spent some time gently guiding me through the process of "allowing the grass to sing." He never lost patience with me. After that we played duets. We laughed together as grass blades got worn out and had to be replaced.
Dave was also the first to talk to me about the stars. I remember standing in the side yard with him after dinner. He had one hand resting on my shoulder as he pointed out constellations with the other. He told me stories about the stars. Dave always had fascinating stories to tell about everything. When I asked questions his answers were simple and forthright. He never spoke down to me. His smile was easy and true. Dave was one of the few adults in my life to have given me the gift of his undivided attention. There was so much love in him!
And then one sad summer, he simply didn't come... If you were to question me I couldn't tell you any statistics about Dave. I don't know where he was born or how old he was when he died. And yet I knew all the most important things about Dave.
© Rapture's Corner
My mother tells me that Dave was a Powder Monkey (he set off dynamite for a living) who lived in Vermont. Other than that she seems to have known very little about Dave as well. But we both loved him very much.
