4/12/2023 0 Comments William blake minute particularsAs a musician, she quickly connected to the music community. Lindell had recently arrived in Mendocino in her VW bug with all her possessions and was adjusting to life on the coast. She was really pleasant and likable and we trusted her. It felt like we were falling behind with everything we had to do. My wife and I were both working full time, our two young boys were in preschool, and we had our hands full. I first met Lindell sometime in the early 80s. “You don’t see any more real honest people unless you go way out in the country.” Flannery O’Connor, Good Country People Now that you have this background, I can tell you about Lindell. I suppose I drew some kind of moral out of that, though I’m not sure what it might have been. Finally I assumed it had somehow been lost on that hectic day when the fire consumed everything. Occasionally I thought of my father’s ring. Three years later, I moved to a home in the woods with my growing family. That day passed, and then another until months turned into years. Everything had to be quickly evacuated from the house in case it too caught fire. The fear and panic when I discovered the fire were palpable. A fire rose up from the Cellar Bar and completely destroyed the restaurant. And then came the kind of surprise that shocks the routine of an ordinary life. I grew into the demanding job of running the Sea Gull. I shoved the box to the rear of a drawer in my desk thinking it would be safe there. I decided to slip the ring into an empty plastic box that once held a cassette tape. I suppose I felt the presence of the ring made me closer to my father, something I’d yearned for all my life. The sensible thing to have done would have been to store the ring in a bank safety deposit box, but for some reason I wanted to have the ring near me. Sea Gull Cellar Bar Nakin Art, artist James Maxwell Yes, said the voice, but cheer up, it’s fun in the end.” Roberto Bolaño, 2666: A Novel “So everything lets us down, including curiosity and honesty and what we love best. Shortly after I moved to Mendocino and became the owner of the Sea Gull Restaurant, I removed the ring from my hand. I loved my father and was honored to have his ring, but I felt uncomfortable and conspicuous wearing something so valuable especially at such a young age. My half-sister, twice my age, placed the ring on my finger after the funeral saying my father wanted me to have it, to wear it. Family history has it that he won the diamond in a card game and had the rubies added later. One of the few personal items he left to me was the ring he wore on his right hand, a diamond set in gold with matching rubies on either side. In spite of many hardships, she never complained and she always spoke highly of my father and did what she could to get us together. We had a good relationship, if distant, thanks to my mother. While I believed my father loved and cared about me, I saw him only occasionally, once or twice a year. Less than two years later my parents separated. My father was nearly fifty when I was born. Sea Gull Cellar Bar Napkin Art, artist Lynn
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |