Sunday, May 3, 2009
Hello Everyone ! I want to take this opportunity to say a few words about Dad and to thank everyone for their kindness. It was wonderful to see so many people at the wake and the funeral and to hear the outpourings of stories from the past. I'm also grateful to all of the people who contacted me online and who have written messages of condolence here. About Dad, I thought Father Declan said it all quite well in the eulogy when he basically said that if you encountered Dad on a good day, it was quite pleasant but that if he was in a bad mood, you really had to take to your scrapers ! Dad had a lot of good points - his friends are testimonial to that. However, he also had a volatile side to him and he was impossible to be around when that side of him came out. I hadn't seen him in years but I called him for his birthday back in November and he was in a great mood but then , when I called him for New Year's he told me off and said he had to get off the phone. That was just the way he was. He had many eccentric ways - i remember spending a lot of grim days growing up there in Ship Cove. It was unbelievably harsh to grow up in an alcoholic environment with a parent so obsessed with old-fashioned ways such as living with no electricity and whatnot. Having said that though, I have to say that he instilled a lot of valuable lessons about life which have always served me quite well. His way showed me to never mind going your own way in life no matter what other people think of you. Also, although he could be quite harsh on his own family and people who had daily interactions with him, he was often genuinely interested in people who had nothing material to offer , just themselves through conversation. Any time he had a good conversation ( or bad ) that interested him ,he would recount it for years later. From his example , I really learned to treasure people through conversation - this has proven to be a valuable asset to me throughout my lifetime. He always used to say "Don't ye go coming home here grand or I'll lose me boot in your arses." so I REALLY had to laugh when I was home for the funeral and people kept saying to me "Ye certainly didn't get grand though." Probably the best lesson of all - stay true to your roots and keep a sense of humour. Dad really did have quite a sense of humour ( IF you caught him on the right day ) and a lot of people had some really good times with him. That is not to say that growing up with him as a parent was rosy , far from it. But that is not what I want to dwell on here. As Father Declan said to me in the graveyard , "Leave all of it here. Don't carry it with you." I sincerely hope that Dad's spirit finds rest and that he has been released from all of the torment and suffering that he had in this life. Daughter, Paulette
