Landline (for Dad)
Sometimes, I think
I should text my dad
give him an update
tell him where I’m at.
Not that he would answer
he’s been gone a few years now
and even if he were alive
texting would hardly be his thing;
at the turn of the century
he was still approaching
what we now call a ‘landline’
with some trepidation.
Landline: a rope
uncoiling towards the shore.
He once told me
that when we have children
of our own
we begin to understand
our own parents better
so I think my text
would be an attempt
to let him know
that, yes, dad
I have found this
to be true.
Stopdraggingthepanda 
Thank you for this warm piece, Jim. It brought back so many memories for me. When I said “I’ll call him on the landline,” a few years ago, and my son laughed at my quaintness; when my father was alive and our phone number was LW1685; all the other me’s that are long gone without a landline.
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Thanks Steve, my dad was a shoe repairer who read Tom Wolfe! Hey, isn’t that a title!
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My pleasure, Jim. I say go with it, that’s where ideas come from. 👍
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