The face of my father

 I

He would come home from work, lunch bucket, and newspaper tucked under his arm, and sink one-handed free throws endlessly; I have not forgotten the face of my father

He would only need to threaten us kids with the belt, and when he'd yell "Not one more peep out of you" one of us said "peep". I have not forgotten the face of my father

He played Cribbage during lunch time with his office buddies, when someone got a 29 hand, they'd tape it to the wall, and crack open a new deck of cards. I have not forgotten the face of my father

He was a cost accountant at the Washburn Wire mill, a steelworker union organizer, and for a long time, president of his local union. I have not forgotten the face of my father

He had worked as a roofer and helped weld leaks in the city hall tower during the winter before getting into office work at Washburn. I have not forgotten the face of my father

He served in the 4th Marines, seeing action on Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima. He always said he was lucky to return and finally left us quietly on February 19, yes, 67 years to the day that he had landed on Iwo. I have not forgotten the face of my father

   II

He was the middle child of 9, although he found out when his brother researched the family genealogy, that it was really 10; "They only counted the live ones". I have not forgotten the face of my father

He met, fell in love, and married Rita, in the time after WW II, and eventually reconciled with her parents even though they did not attend her wedding.  I have not forgotten the face of my father

He was not French, Rita's father felt it was beneath his daughter to marry an Irishman, so he took the family out of town come wedding day. I have not forgotten the face of my father

He folded out the living room sleep sofa nightly; that was their bedroom for 20+ years while raising 6 kids in a 2 bedroom 5 room 1st floor of a triple decker.  I have not forgotten the face of my father

He would have us gather our shoes to be shined while watching TV Saturday night, while we took our turns through the bathroom, well organized chaos, I have not forgotten the face of my father

He became well respected by Pepe for his ability to maintain a serious, and civil discourse, especially when some of the in-laws couldn't.  I have not forgotten the face of my father

He and Mom had got back into good graces with Pepe after the first grandchild came along. That was me. Now I understand it was my calling to bring people together. I have not forgotten the face of my father

for Gerald Sherlock

St Ray's 50th High School Reunion

Time lapse, 50 years in a couple of minutes 

to answer the question: What does one say 

to someone they haven’t seen in 50 years

I am sorry? Yes, and then …

People want to know, who we are, who we are

So we tell 'em, so we tell 'em

We are the Saints, the mighty might Saints

We weren’t always, folks understood that we aspired to be

And Peter Pan is still my hero, I never wanted to grow up

Yet words like retirement, grandfather, 50 year HS reunion

Are now part of my vocabulary, and it is hard getting used to them

What of the days at McCoy playing pick up baseball, 

or Novelty Park basketball, or delivering the Times making some 

money to pay for school, books, and the occasional

Ring Ding and Yahoo at Mike’s Corner market

High School commencement was the end

Of one path, other paths opened with college

And beyond; the world of work, family,

Moving about the country before coming home

What is home? Pawtucket is where my story

Started, St Joe’s & St Ray’s were key parts of it

Even returning for a spell as an assistant coach for

track and cross country before corporate moves took over

Now up the road a piece; Franklin is my home base

From which I also found that railroad lines

Used to come down to Valley Falls and into

Pawtucket back in the day when trains were king

Can you go home again? An age old question

But yes, if you want. Aside from visiting

The cemetery and walking among the neighborhood streets

You can’t ever get fully away, the ties are binding

So I’ll quote Rumi:

Out beyond wrongdoing

And rightdoing, there is a field

I’ll meet you there

sherku: blizzard '78

Across the
Wide freeway the
Pyramid rose
As white as
The snow we sledded

sherku: Irish 5K

Irish 5k
Learning to
Gain power
From memories
Here in Pawtucket



What is a sherku?   


I grew up in Pawtucket and going back to run this Irish 5K race I find an emotional roller coaster ride.

There was a lad from Pawtucket

There was a lad from Pawtucket 

who now had to rhyme with suck it 

but he did not dare 

as he did not swear 

so he found a way to duck it

Originally posted on the Joyful Jubilant Learning blog