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Dear Dad,
It's been quite a while since you've been gone. You left us at age 82 in 1986. Others of our immediate family who have joined you since then include my sister and her husband; and her youngest son (your grandson).
Say hello to all who are there with you. Mom was already there when you showed up.
I'm 87 now, and I suppose it won't be too long before I join you.
Since that time when you passed, my older son had two nice, intelligent kids -- a boy and a girl. My younger son had two smart and bright kids, a son and a daughter.
Your oldest grandson had a boy and a girl, and another grandson (the youngest) who has passed away, had two. Your second-oldest grandson had no offspring.
I'm sure, though, that I've slipped up in identifying all the above, but I feel I will be forgiven.
Just about everyone mentioned above has turned out pretty well.
And speaking about turning out pretty well, I hope I have met with your approval. You see, since I was your only son, I felt the burden of trying to be somebody talented or rich or accomplished in some field of endeavor -- somebody like Jonas Salk or Thomas Edison or Bill Gates.
Of course, that was not to be. I could have been so many things. Trouble was, I was trying to hit a moving target. The menu of what I could be was ever changing.
At various times during my growing up, it was suggested to me (or I thought of it on my own) that I become a professional pilot, a doctor of medicine, a car stylist, an engineer, an artist, an optometrist, president of the United States, mayor of my home town, opera singer, an architect, and what seems to be a half dozen more.
In my early post-high-school days, I took a battery of tests to help determine what direction I should take. Lo and behold, the testing counselor said to me, "I have great news for you, you can be just about anything you want to be." Oh, swell.
Anyway, I think that there is a message here. That message being that a person must, unaided, come up with a doable target and pursue it, come hell or high water. Don't give up because it seems too hard or complicated. And don't pursue something because your Uncle Clyde thinks it's what you should be or do.
Keep at it. You'll succeed. Above all, don't try to satisfy all those Uncle Clydes in your career choice. Do what your heart tells you.
If you run out of money, one way or another, you'll find a financial path.
Willy-nilly, I found my path.
When I think about it, it was so easy and obvious. I became a writer, editor and a public relations man. All three of those ways are satisfying and fulfilling.
In another couple of days, we'll be celebrating Father's Day. With or without out your help, one can find the way. I'm betting on it.
Happy Father's Day!
See you soon,
Your son
Mumford, of Warren, may be reached at donmumford@aol.com.