Phoenix Rises, Too

Fifty years ago today, I saw a U-Haul back into our gravel driveway in Baltimore.  The sun was warm that early Friday morning. 

I ran down the steps in our tiny cape cod and saw my father standing in our living room.  He was holding a new box.

"Dad, are we getting something?" I asked excitedly.

"No, I'm leaving," he said.

               - Half Pint

Dad remarried within a month. He married a woman who fit him perfectly.  They traveled together in various campers and fifth wheels.  His best trip was to the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina. He is the reason I came here.  I had to know, to understand the beauty he found here. It only took one trip and I was hooked.

I rarely saw my father after he moved.  He had his own life and I think, he preferred a separateness.  He was as active in his Eldersburg community as he was in our Woodlawn town.  He died at sixty-seven.  

I always remember Good Friday. Phoenix rises, too. I love you, Dad.