I just said goodbye to a friend

his wife died late in the Fall

it was snowing

his son returned that winter and told him he felt it was best that he move to Washington State to live with him

so he and his wife could better care for him

What I asked

I knew he cared for his wife during her long illness

I knew his heart broke when she died

I often saw him sitting in his studio after her death

he wasnt working

the potbelly stove was cold  unlit

I hadnt ever seen him there when he wasnt feverishly at work with his paintbrushes and oils  the stove grinning with flames

he was more fun to watch than cartoons

I knew him since I was eight and had taken on the neighborhood paper route

I knocked at his Prairie Avenue door late one winter afternoon and introduced myself

Im your new paperboy Is there anything I can do to make the Chicago Tribune and the Sun-Times deliveries better for you

I know you know young man that I only receive the Trib

Yes sir but I also said you might be better informed if you read both sides of the story

A smart guy huh

Yes sir I read both papers 

                             I did as I walked my route pulling my red wagon stacked with papers behind me

he bought a subscription to the Sun-Times

Young man

Yes sir

Do you cut lawns

I do  I cut lawns edge sidewalks rake leaves shovel snow too

he told me if I would like to make a couple of bucks to come back on the weekend and I could cut his lawn

Yes sir

we shook on it

I stood on the street curb and watched his face through the cab window as he and his son were to drive to O’Hare for their flight to Seattle Washington 

I had to look up Seattle in my National Geographic magazines

it looked like a pretty place a place where he could paint his landscapes again 

he said they were Impressionistic

as the cab pulled away he waved wistfully

behind his eyeglasses he was weeping

I hadnt seen a man cry before

he touched me

men dont cry

I cried as I walked home

we talked before he left about seeing each other again

we did not

it wasnt that we didnt mean it

but he wasnt well and I was only twelve

I liked him best whenever we talked outdoors together

hed take a knee  call me young man

he said that was called mutual respect

he said You should know inside me Im no older than you  

2329,  Twosday,  1  1. 13

Yasmin Levy   Naci En Alamo  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZKLSg1kjQ0