This is a still life about all things having to do with time and my father. He went to school on the GI Bill and became a horologist after the war. He was a watchmaker. I used to love to tell folks what my dad did.
What can I say about my Dad? I grew up in Camelot (well, Norwood) with parents that were always there and always loved me, their only child. My father was a quiet man - either by choice or he just couldn't get a word in edgewise with Anna Jane. I was always Daddy's Girl, and that was all I wanted to be. He let me "drive" the car into the garage while I sat on his lap. He let me paint closets because he didn't trust me with a paint brush anywhere else. He taught me to fish and I literally caught him in the behind while learning to "cast" with a cane pole. He taught me right from wrong by example. He taught me that I could do or be anything that I wanted to be as long as whatever I did, I did it to the best of my ability. He taught me how to be a parent by his parenting skills - all of the things I did wrong were on me. He taught me the value of a day's work by always showing up and doing the very best that he knew how. He taught me to love by his love for my Mother - every day no matter what. He taught me about marriage by example - I got it right the second time. The smell of newly cut grass, Autumn leaves burning, coffee on the back porch - all of these take me right back to a time and a place that don't exist anymore outside my heart. I loved him, laughed with him, cried with him, disappointed him, made him proud, took care of him, mourned his passing and today I honor his memory. I love you, Daddy - to the moon and beyond. I miss you every day. I wish that the photography bug would have bitten me a bit sooner and that you would have let your picture be taken more often.
