Thursday, March 18, 2010

"Remember what peace there may be in silence"






















Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter. -John Muir, naturalist, explorer, and writer (1838-1914)

My dad was born in 1914 and died on St. Patrick's Day in 2003. I was named after his mother who died when I was 7 years old. She lived in Minnesota. We lived in California. She saw me twice -- once when I was an infant and again when I was not much older than 3. She said of me, "She's a sturdy baby. She will be able to take care of herself in the world."

My father was named after his mother's father.

My dad loved flowers and gardening. After retiring from a career as a systems analyst, he said, "I should have been a farmer."

Rest in peace, Dad.

3 comments:

robin andrea said...

You and I are daughters who lost our fathers in the month of March, and were named for their paternal grandmothers. I never met my grandmother, but we share the Hebrew name Rifka.

May our fathers rest in peace.

Anonymous said...

nice tribute to your father. good to see you back, worried they were working you too hard. kjm

bev said...

My father died on St. Patrick's Day in 1999. It's interesting how many people come to love gardening, especially in their later life.