On Daddy's 83rd Birthday

I'm not sure, but I think this was taken
when we picked up Daddy from the airport
when he was visiting from a short-term
job teaching at an orphanage in Jamaica.
He still has that smile.
Happy 83rd birthday, Daddy/Herb/Bobba!

He taught in Carolina, Florida,
Jamaica, Spanish just a little,
knowing French so well he
dreams it still, fit in with natives
when he traveled. Taught his
daughters in the kitchen
learning how to cook,
at his workshop introducing
us to power tools, the smell of
stain, the grains of different woods,
while fishing on the river bank,
or eating food grown in his
garden, flying kites or singing
Gershwin in the living room
with Mama on piano. He
wins when playing Trivial
Pursuit, but didn't how old
he is today. Maybe that way
he can still be standing with
his classes conjugating verbs,
or playing as a boy on
Kure Beach, getting too much
sun for such a fair complexion.


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014