Forty-five Years On

Easter and my late father’s passing seem to have come into the same orbit again, forty-five years on. Jesus of Nazareth with Robert Powell in the lead role of Franco Zeffirelli’s epic, which also starred Laurence Olivier and Ian McShane, was premiering on TV in the week leading up to his death. It was so beautiful and compelling that I couldn’t understand why Mum left the house to visit Dad in hospital every night. She sensed the seriousness of his condition when I, at seventeen, did not.

My eyes blur, still, at the thought of the loss (me now at sixty-two, would you believe) which represents the strong, unquestionable bond that fathers and sons have when the relationship is at its best, and I know that not all boys are so lucky.

It’s a common witnessing, but I do so much appreciate all that my father gave me through simply being him, and I hope that I can give on, in my best attempt at emulating him, by simply being me.

Here’s a link to what I have written about him in the past…

https://www.blipfoto.com/entry/2300290540517720420