Thank you to the authors.
Dear Dad,
This time reminds me so much of 9-11 and the first time I heard you cry when you called me as we watched the towers on T.V.. You were so distraught for the people fleeing from those buildings, and you worried about your own staff in Boston. I track how long you have been by all that has happened. You have gained five grandchildren, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law. You loved your palm-pilot, and would be blown away with the iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods. You would get excited today over the way people are learning to connect virtually.
The week before the pandemic exploded, I was driving to work thinking of how excited you would be to have me working in your town. You would have spent your time being sure to connect me with anyone you came in contact with-your networking skills were legendary. And Sweetgreen would have made you so happy! How I wish I could meet you for a quick lunch. That day my co-worker asked me to ride with her to pick up lunch for our office. When I got into her car, I felt your presence. On her passenger seat was Close Range, Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx. Sarah explained that for some strange reason, she had not returned the book her husband had taken out of the library. I told her the story of your bucket list trip to Jackson Hole when you realized that your cancer had spread and the future looked bleak. On that flight, you asked us to start calling you Pake Bitts, a cowboy character from Annie’s book. You believed that you needed to adopt a courageous cowboy character so you could kick cancer’s ass. You were going to become Pake Bitt, and we laughed so hard as we teased you. As things always do in the Colbert family, it became a running joke on the trip, and we even made up nicknames for Mum to accompany this silly idea. When we returned from Jackson Hole, and I became pregnant with Tyler, we decided that “Pake” was a more suitable name than Grandpa. And “Pookie” would be his trusty side-kick. We have all told this story often since you passed, and we never called you Dad again. I’ve read the book and realized that the character was not a brave role model, but you must have liked his name and wanted some of his swagger.
When author’s write their stories, I expect they plan to touch their readers, but do they ever really know the effect their book may have? Twenty-years after first hearing of this book, we are still talking about it and re-reading it. The older I get, the more I enjoy reading and find books to be a wonderful escape. To all of the writers out there, please do not stop sharing your gifts. Especially with all that is going on in the world today, you never know who might need to hear your story.
