9:01 a.m. - 2003-05-02
Sappy story of a father and daughter
So, I went to see What a Girl Wants last night. Colin Firth was once again a damn sexy dude. Funny, it was pretty much the same role he played in P&P and Bridget Jones. Young, brilliant, handsome British man is brought out of his stuffy British shell by winsome young woman with an attitude. Only this time it was his daughter. I fall for it every time. I'm much more of a romantic than I wish to admit, being all modern and such, eh hem!
The big excitement in town is the new Rita's Italian Ice stand, which is located within walking distance from my apartment. This is big news guys. Not much happens here in H-town where the cows are landmarks.
So this summer will be filled with weekend days lazing by the pool sporting bullet-proof sunscreen and eating icy treats. It'll be a return to my youth, where pool days, popcycles and the arrival of my dad after a long day at work were the order of the day.
I still remember how it felt to run down the sidewalk with arms splayed in the air screaming "Daddy, Daddy" at the top of my young lungs. I'd have the "Big Wheal" at the ready for him to push me onward toward home. He was sick then, having had 3 heart surgeries to correct a congenital disease. I had no idea he was ill. He was just my Dad. He was invincable. He was the man whose lap I would drape myself over at the end of the night as he read the newspaper or Plato to me. I still remember the part where the people were unenlightened, in the cave, in the dark. I'm not sure I understood the meaning back then, at 5 years or so. But it was our quality time. Our time to be together while Mom did the dishes and my brother was outside with his buddies, planning the next day's mischief in the dark shadows of the condo complex.
I read Plato again in college, and the memories came back in pieces. Memories long since burried with my Dad. Its funny what shock can to to a kid when her world turns inside out. For years the memories wouldn't come. They are still sketchy. At the oddest moments a picture or image of a moment will float through my head and make me smile. Those were the good days. Being fulfilled by the simplest of things. I hope one day my kids, not yet thought of, will have as good a life as I did.
