British summer time

burtschipsburtschips Posts: 734
edited March 2006 in Poetry, Prose, Music & Art
I went around to visit just today. I had woken up early and dozed until it was late morning. It was even later morning, the clocks had moved forward and then when I was turning into my parents street it was a quarter to twelve not a quarter to eleven as I had thought. I only realized when the radio made a point of it.

My dad is pretty unwell, he has a tumour behind his left ear and a little below, kind of on the base of his skull but you can see it. He has another one that you can't see in his hip and I think some cancer in his lung or chest glands. I don't know. The lump on his neck has affected his facial nerves and he has a degree of palsy to his left side - his cheek is drooped and sagging and the corner of his mouth has dropped. He does not look too great! No, he looked very bad today.

When he was younger and when I was a child, he looked athletic, active, he was well put together. He was a journalist, worked for papers first then radio then television and radio, he has a great vocabulary and is good at crosswords. I am useless at crosswords. Now, well he's older but still not old, only 56 (I think maybe 57) but he's being ravaged, his legs are like sticks (I had to lift them into the car last week) and they don't look like they can carry him. He told me maybe two weeks ago that he had fallen over in a shop and was not able to get up again. He had to be hoisted up by two strangers but he had driven there himself! I think he was trying to buy a cactus, he started a collection that sits on the window ledge in his bedroom.

56 sounds young, certainly not old but he has screwed himself into the ground throughout his life. Drinking too much and smoking like only he could, I certainly never could, not like that. And that's all because he's always been scared of something I think, always been tormented by this fear. Which is sad.

Anyway, I realized that the point of this is that he aways used to change the clocks the night before. But he never did it this year.
Salut baloo
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • oldermanolderman Posts: 1,765
    this is moving.. thank you
    Down the street you can hear her scream youre a disgrace
    As she slams the door in his drunken face
    And now he stands outside
    And all the neighbours start to gossip and drool
    He cries oh, girl you must be mad,
    What happened to the sweet love you and me had?
    Against the door he leans and starts a scene,
    And his tears fall and burn the garden green
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,561
    this sucks, losing a friggin hour!
  • burtschips, I read this yesterday but was too busy to post. I found it moving as well. It hit close to home for me and so, I was able to connect. Thank you so much for sharing! :)
    Forget your perfect offering, there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in. - Leonard Cohen
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,561
    today felt soo like summer!!!
  • burtschipsburtschips Posts: 734
    Thanks BE and Olderman!

    IBI I don't think we actually lose an hour, because we get on back for the winter. Swings and roundabouts.
    Salut baloo
  • even flow?even flow? Posts: 8,066
    I feel for you dude. Just let him know that you will be there if he needs anything and that you love him.
    You've changed your place in this world!
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